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THE WAY OF JESUS 











THE WAY OF JESUS 

A FRANK ENQUIRY INTO THE WAY OF 
JESUS FOR HUMAN SOCIETY, BASED ON 
THE RECORDS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 


BY 


HENRY T. HODGKIN 

* \ 

M.A., M.B. (Cantab.) 

AUTHOR OF “lay RELIGION,” “ THE CHRISTIAN REVOLUTION,** 

“china in the family of nations,” etc. 


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*», 


NEW 



YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 




•suns' 

AfcHfcS 


SIFT 

PUBLlSHF r 

OCT 7 *4 



THE WAY OF JESUS 

- EC- 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


PREFACE 


These Bible studies were first written for Chinese stu¬ 
dents following the conference of the World’s Student 
Christian Federation in Peking. At that gathering a 
series of findings were brought in by the “ Forum ” 
on social and industrial problems.* These were based 
upon the idea that the teachings of Jesus were the prac¬ 
tical guide for our present social disorders. It was felt 
that as they were discussed in the colleges of China, it 
would be a great help to have, at the same time, a body 
of material that would show in greater detail what these 
teachings are and how they affect our problems to-day. 
In the original draft there were many references to 
Chinese conditions. 

The studies have been worked over and in part re¬ 
written for British students. In some particulars the 
Chinese flavour may be found still to remain. Yet 
it is believed that there is nothing in them which does not 
bear upon problems faced by England at the present time. 
The line taken is similar to that I have followed in 
my recent volume The Christian Revolution , the main 
differences being the form of question and daily study, 
the perpetual reference of all to the actual words of 
Christ, and the absence in this volume of the illustrative 
material published in the second part of The Christian 
Revolution. I hope that in this form the leading con¬ 
ceptions on which that volume is based may not so 
much be transmitted to the student as won by him for 
himself. The inexhaustible mine which we have in 
the words and deeds of Jesus Christ is still open for us 

* See Appendix, p. 134 


VI 


PREFACE 


to dig in for ourselves. As life unfolds its meaning 
and as one problem follows another, one comes back 
with ever fresh wonder and satisfaction to the wealth 
of wisdom and inspiration to be found in these writings. 
I hope that each student of these pages may be a dis¬ 
coverer, with something of the zest of the pioneer breaking 
fresh ground, seeing fresh beauties, enriched with fresh 
power for his own life as day follows day. Whether he 
sees just what I have seen is small matter. That his 
own eyes may be enlightened and his own spirit uplifted 
is my great hope. 

In the matter of recording results, each person and 
group must take the line which seems best. The sugges¬ 
tions are simply thrown out for the sake of those who 
find such a method helpful. The idea of daily readings 
and a weekly group study has often been found helpful, 
but there is no reason why this book should not be used 
either by an individual studying these matters alone or 
by a group whose members do not follow the method 
suggested. In that case the group should take each 
study and not only those arranged for the weekly 
gathering. Many problems are raised which are not 
fully answered. I have often indicated the kind of 
answer I should make with my own knowledge and 
experience, but the object of the book would not be 
achieved were students to follow this lead without think¬ 
ing their own way into each question. For this reason 
the lead has often been very slight. 


Shanghai. 

March 31, 1923. 


HENRY T. HODGKIN. 


INTRODUCTION 


Everyone is talking of reconstruction to-day. We can 
agree at once that profound changes are needed in 
society, and that we need courage and insight if we are 
to make them. We can agree about many of the things 
that are wrong; it is much harder to agree upon what we 
need to put in their place and how we are to proceed in 
doing this. There are many prophets of a new social 
order. For some, Karl Marx or Lenin offer the true 
solution; for others, H. G. Wells or Romain Rolland; 
for others, Ghandi. Who is to lead us in the task of 
creating a new social order ? This is a very important 
problem for all students to-day. If only a number of 
us could agree on a leader and agree to follow him, what 
an immense power the forces of goodwill and good sense 
would have, and how easy it would be to overcome 
reaction and selfishness and dishonesty in high places. 

This book is first and foremost an enquiry into the 
problem as to whether Jesus Christ gives us the kind of 
guidance we need. It is offered to the sincere and fair- 
minded student in order that he may reach his own 
answer to that question. We shall ask ourselves what 
the ideas of Jesus actually are and what they would mean 
if they were applied in society. We shall further ask in 
what way they can actually be worked out. At the end 
of this study the careful student should be in a position 
to answer the questions, “ Is Jesus Christ the Leader we 
need in the world to-day ? ” “If so, in what sense is He 
to be our Leader ?” 

There are some people who will begin at once with 
certain difficulties. Let me say a word in trying to 
remove these: 

• • 

Vll 


Vlll 


INTRODUCTION 


1. “ Christian countries are as bad as any others, if 
not worse. There is no use in looking to Christianity for 
a solution.” 

I would reply, “ There is no really Christian country. 
Undoubtedly Christian influences have deeply affected 
the lives of certain countries and have been instrumental 
in leading to social betterment, but in some degree we 
have all missed the way of Jesus Christ. This book is 
not to compare West and East, 4 Christian ’ and ‘ non- 
Christian;’ it is to bring us all back to the simple 
standards of Jesus Christ, and apply these standards 
fearlessly to West as to East alike. There is no doubt 
they will mean a tremendous change everywhere, whether 
we call that change good or bad.” 

2. “I do not believe Jesus is what the Church says, 

‘ the Son of God.’ Why, then, should I pay any special 
attention to His will.” 

I would reply, “ This book is not based on any 
such assumption. We simply look at the life and 
teaching of Jesus as we would look at that of any 
other creative thinker. Some of us, after so doing, 
may come to the conclusion that He is indeed the 
Son of God. If so, we shall have to consider what 
this involves and be true to our convictions. But we do 
not start out with any such assumption, instead simply 
taking the historical materials, and trying to find if they 
throw any light on our present problems.” 

3. “ These historical materials are of no value. The 
Bible is full of mistakes and is not trustworthy. Why 
should I accept its authority ?” 

I would reply, “ I am not asking you to accept any 
authority save what you yourself feel to be true. Here 
are the records: if they have value, as many wise people 
have thought and still think, any reasonable and fair- 
minded student can see their value after studying them. 
Let us try this method, without discussing historical 
or scientific accuracy of particular incidents. That can 


INTRODUCTION 


iz 


come later. Now we are seeing what they have to say, 
taken simply as ordinary human documents.” 

4. “ But Jesus lived in entirely different economic 
conditions. How can His life have any meaning or rele¬ 
vance to our problems ?” 

I would reply, “ Principles are eternal: let us see what 
these are and how they may be applied to new circum¬ 
stances. At least we can’t afford to lose any light on a 
problem so difficult.” 

5. “ Why study Jesus and not other great men, ancient 
or modern, who have thought on these things ?” 

I would reply, “ By all means let us study them too. 
If there had been space I should have illustrated my 
points freely from the other writings which have very 
much to teach us on these matters. But to study one 
person’s work at a time may be enough, and there is 
this interesting fact about Jesus. He is an international 
figure and has appealed to men of all races and in each 
generation. What we need to-day is an international 
solution of our economic and social problems.” 

The student who takes pains to follow through the 
thought of this volume will certainly be rewarded. He 
is not studying simply the ideas of the writer, which may 
be good, bad, or indifferent. He will be studying the 
thought and acts of one whom every serious student of 
history agrees to have been one of the most suggestive 
and influential minds the world has ever seen. To do 
this is a liberal education. It needs humility, for without 
this no advance in thought or science can ever be made; 
it needs patience if we are to get to the real heart of the 
problem—no deep truths can be found by those who only 
scratch the surface; it needs honesty of purpose, for a man 
who will not accept in his own life the results of his own 
discoveries will soon cease to discover fresh things. I 
do not think anyone ever thought or acted in a more 
daring way than Jesus. Wherever people come under 
the spell of His personality they think and act boldly. 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


I feel certain that some of you who study Him in this 
little volume will find that all the best part of you is 
stirred to new life and action, that you want to serve your 
day and generation more than ever before, that you are 
ready to suffer more gladly, that you see a larger hope 
for the world and that a new power takes possession of 
you and makes you ten times as strong. 

It is in this hope that I give you my little book, and 
for this reason I ask you to give your best thought to 
its study. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAG! 

PREFACE - - - - - V 

INTRODUCTION - - - vii 

I. THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST - - I 

II. PREVAILING STANDARDS IN THE PRESENT SOCIAL 

ORDER - - - - I4 

III. FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP - - 26 

IV. JUSTICE AND LOVE - - - 38 

V. AMBITION AND SERVICE - - - 51 

VI. THE MEANS AND THE END - - 63 

VII. CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION: (a)THE INDIVIDUAL 76 

VIII. CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION : (b) THE GROUP - 89 

IX. THE NEXT STEP - - - - 101 

X. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH - - 120 

APPENDIX: FINDINGS OF THE PEKING CON¬ 
FERENCE “ FORUM ” ON SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
PROBLEMS - - - - - I34 

BOOKS SUGGESTED FOR FURTHER READING - 139 


si 













V 




THE WAY OF JESUS 


FIRST WEEK 

THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 

First Day. 

But Jesus called them to him , and saith unto them, Ye know 
that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise 
lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority 
upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whoso¬ 
ever will be great among you, shall be your minister : and 
whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but 
to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark x. 
42 - 45 -) 

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, 
and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I 
have done to you ? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say 
well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have 
done to you. (John xiii. 12-15.) 

The standards of Jesus are thoroughly revolutionary. 
We commonly think that it is a fine thing to gain authority, 
to command men, to have many who will serve us. This 
idea runs through the whole of civilization. Rarely, 
indeed, do men seek out a place of humble or menial 
service. Do you know any case of a man who could 
control many other lives, either by his power, rank, or 
wealth, voluntarily giving up all this to take the place of 
a servant ? If we saw this happening on a large scale, 
we should think something had gone wrong with the 
world. For example, how does this conception of life 
affect our idea of the “white man’s burden”? Is it 

clear that the moral qualities, such as a high sense of 

1 


2 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

justice, responsibility and public honour, which go to 
make an efficient government, are the most important 
qualities for human society? We may say that the 
maxim “ By love serve one another ” could be carried 
out by all persons, and if so carried out we should have 
an ideal state of society. But the maxim “ By love 
(even) govern one another ” could not be carried out save 
by a minority of the race. Jesus was dealing in terms of 
universal value, and exhibited virtues which, if exhibited 
by all, would mean a new social order. 

Let us stop and ask ourselves whether we can imagine 
a society in which the competition would be for the 
humblest place, and there would be no scramble for the 
important ones. Yet this is the kind of society Jesus 
thought about. Where would it lead us if even a small 
number of us took this view of life ? 

Second Day . 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, 
and a tooth for a tooth : But I say unto you, That ye resist 
not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, 
turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at 
law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And 
whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow 
of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been 
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which 
despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the 
children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh 
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain 
on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which 
love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans 
the same ? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye 
more than others ? do not even the publicans so ? Be ye 
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect. (Matt. v. 38-48.) 

There is something rather disconcerting about these 
ideas of Jesus. Fancy encouraging the man who takes 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 3 

your coat by giving him your cloak as well! This is 
no way to establish justice, it is simply letting the villain 
have his way. Society would fall to pieces if we didn’t 
punish the offender, would it not ? Did Jesus really 
mean that a man who was guilty of a dastardly assault 
should be asked to repeat the offence ? 

Suppose we all took this line, would it not simply mean 
that ill will would triumph, and that the kindly decent 
people would be stamped out, imposed upon, treated 
cruelly ? We say that the eternal laws of justice demand 
that men should suffer for their crimes, that when a man 
has done wrong he deserves to have the same thing 
happen to him. Jesus seemed to think that God 
did not care very much for that kind of justice, for 
He made the sun to shine and sent His rain on the evil 
and good alike. (Cf. Christian Justice , by Norman 
Robinson). 

What is the meaning of this strange contradiction ? 
What kind of justice is established by law courts, prisons 
and other restrictive methods ? Is this the kind of justice 
in which Jesus was interested, and if not, wherein is the 
essential difference ? Let us think of the usual figure 
of justice—blind, with scales and a sword. What do 
each of these symbols mean, and do they stand for the 
conception of justice which is expressed in to-day’s 
passage ? Can we see or weigh the motive, and will 
force create just persons ? 

Third Day . 

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who 
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? And Jesus called a 
little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, 
Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as 
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, 
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso 
shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in 


4 THE WAY OF JESUS 

ms, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about 
his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 
(Matt, xviii. 1-6.) 

Human society as organized to-day seems to be based 
upon the importance of wise people and those who have 
reached positions of influence. Jesus seemed curiously 
indifferent to such ideas. The little children seemed to 
be the creators of a new world: “ Of such is the kingdom 
of heaven.” If anything happened to them, if they were 
despised or neglected or caused to miss the way, that 
was the great disaster to society. Those who are guilty 
of these things—no matter how rich or powerful—had 
better not have been born. 

Surely if we follow the ideas of Jesus it means turning 
the world topsy-turvy. Do you think Jesus really meant 
us to take such teaching seriously ? Compare His own 
attitude when the important disciples came to send away 
the children. No doubt they thought Jesus far too busy 
to attend to such trifles. But we read: 

And they brought young children to him, that he should 
touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought 
them. But when Jesus saw it , he was much displeased, 
and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come 
unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom 
of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not 
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not 
enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put 
his hands upon them, and blessed them. 

It certainly looks as if He carried out His own ideas. 
What, then, is to become of the great people who are too 
important to bother with little children ? Of course, we 
say the affairs of the world are too complex and need 
wise people. But have the wise people been very suc¬ 
cessful in running the world ? Is there room among 
even grown-up folks for those who still have the child- 
spirit ? 


5 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 
Fourth Day . 

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one 
running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, 
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? And Jesus said 
unto him, Why callest thou me good ? there is none good but 
one, that is , God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not 
commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false 
witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he 
answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed 
from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and 
said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatso¬ 
ever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure 
in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And 
he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had 
great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith 
unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter 
into the kingdom of God ! And the disciples were astonished 
at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, 
Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter 
into the kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through 
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom 
of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying 
among themselves, Who then can be saved ? And Jesus look¬ 
ing upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with 
God: for with God all things are possible. (Mark x. 17-27.) 

Everyone seems to be struggling for money. We 
can get so much with our wealth—ease, culture, self¬ 
development, power, honour, opportunities even to help 
others. Jesus seemed very little impressed with all 
these gains. He Himself never sought wealth ( cf . 
Matt. viii. 20). To Him there was something not only 
which money could never buy, but which money actually 
prevented men from getting—what was it ? Can you 
think of anything which rich men very seldom have, but 
which the poor often have ? After all, what are the real 
human values ? It may be that we miss the best things 
in life because we have our eyes so set on the second-best 
things that we never take time to work at the best. 

Can you imagine a society in which men were not 
constantly struggling for money ? Try to think out what 



6 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

it would mean. How many of the wars and struggles 
in society of one kind and another can be traced back to 
the idea that money is a chief good if not the chief good! 
How many laws are based upon the idea that things 
are of more value than men ! Would there not be a 
surprising revolution if any considerable number of 
persons took this idea seriously ? 

It might be well to put down some of the most noble 
things that have been done in history and some of the 
big advances made even in material things and still more 
in things of the spirit, and then ask the question as to 
how far the money motive seems to have been responsible 
for such advance. 

Fifth Day. 

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, 
saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? He 
said unto him, What is written in the law ? How readest thou ? 
And he answering said,Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, 
and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he 
said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou 
shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, 
And who is my neighbour ? And Jesus answering said, A 
certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell 
among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded 
him , and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance 
there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw 
him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, 
when he was at the place, came and looked on him , and passed 
by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed 
came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion 
on him , and went to him , and bound up his wounds, pouring 
in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him 
to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he 
departed he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, 
and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou 
spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which 
now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that 
fell among the thieves ? And he said, He that shewed mercy 
on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 
(Luke x. 25-37.) 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 7 

If ever there was a case of strong race prejudice it 
was between Jews and Samaritans. Although the latter 
lived in a stretch of country in the heart of Palestine the 
Jews would have no dealings with them. Many went 
a long detour in order to avoid passing through the 
country. Yet Jesus took a Samaritan in order to illus¬ 
trate to His Jewish hearers what real brotherliness meant. 
Can you imagine anything that more clearly shows His 
desire to break down race prejudice ? 

We commonly think it quite right and natural to feel 
a certain dislike or disdain towards those of some other 
races. Perhaps one nation has suffered at the hands 
of another. Do you think Jesus would regard that as 
a sufficient reason to withold pity and loving service ? 
The world is full of barriers of this kind that keep men 
apart in separate groups—because I belong to one group 
I have no dealings with those in another. My “ neigh¬ 
bours/’ according to this idea, are those in my own group. 
Those outside have little if any claim on me. Is this way 
of thinking right ? Is it according to the standard of Jesus ? 
How would our actions and how would society and the 
world of nations be changed if we could catch a new 
idea of what loving one’s neighbour really means ? Dare 
we face the consequence ? For example, what would 
this mean in regard to such questions as reparations, 
economic blockade, the colour bar, etc ? 

Sixth Day. 

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of 
the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And w r hen they saw 
some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with 
unwashen hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all 
the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the 
tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, 
except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there 
be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, 
and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees 
and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to 


8 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

the tradition of the elders, but eat b read with unwashen hands ? 
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied 
of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me 
with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain 
do they worship me, teachi ng for doctrines the commandments 
of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold 
the tradition of men, ay the washing of pots and cups: and many 
other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well 
ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own 
tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; 
and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 
But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, 
that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited 
by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought 
for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none 
effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many 
such like things do ye. (Mark vii. 1-13.) 

One tradition after another seems to disappear under 
the steady searchlight of Jesus’ teaching. The religious 
tradition is no exception. Religion has always had much 
to do with holding society together. The taboos of the 
animist or the caste system of India or the ancestor 
worship of China are all examples. The traditional 
religion of the Jews was a great social bond, and it still 
holds together the Jews though they have had no 
country of their own for nearly 2,000 years. A religion 
that rests on a mere outward observance has no place in 
the thought of Jesus. Social obligation is a thousand 
times more important than this kind of service to God. 
Actually, says Jesus, by observing this outward rule and 
offering to God a part of your property, you are denying 
Him, if it means neglecting your duty to your parents. 

How easy it is to make religious observance an excuse 
for neglecting a social duty. No amount of temple- 
worship or church-going or outward rites can excuse a 
man from that which he owes to his parents, his family, 
the whole community in which he lives. Many people 
think of the religion of Jesus as a mere doctrine. Does 
not this passage show that it is first of all a way of life 
involving social responsibility ? Can you think of other 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 9 

traditions that have the sanction of age and even of 
religion, which prevent men from fulfilling social 
duties ? Think what it meant for Jesus to face the whole 
organized religion of His time. In what respects might 
we have to face it if we allowed His social ideas to pos¬ 
sess us ? 

Seventh Day . 

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 
And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The 
Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they 
shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And 
they were exceeding sorry. And when they were come to 
Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, 
and said, Doth not your master pay tribute ? He saith, Yes. 
And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, 
saying, What thinkest thou, Simon ? of whom do the kings of 
the earth take custom or tribute ? of their own children, or of 
strangers ? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith 
unto him, Then are the children free. (Matt. xvii. 21-26.) 

Jesus never made the mistake of thinking His pro¬ 
gramme could be carried out without cost. He called men 
to suffer even as He Himself was prepared to suffer. He 
seemed to think that suffering was in some way glorious 
if the end were worthy. Men say, “We must live some¬ 
how”; so they excuse their compromises and their 
unwillingness to take any great risks. Jesus never said 
anything of this kind. We have seen that He did not 
regard influence, riches, power, etc., as important ends; 
but is it not amazing that even life itself seemed to be a 
small end compared with something else ? 

What was this “ something else ”? Can we see the 
end which made all this pain and isolation worth while ? 
Society without any adequate aim is lost indeed. We 
are working desperately hard, but for what end ? The 
extraordinary statements of Jesus seem to need an ex¬ 
planation, and no explanation will do that does not include 
an answer to this question: What is the aim of human 


10 THE WAY OF JESUS 

life and human society ? When men feared that follow¬ 
ing Him would mean destitution, Jesus replied, “ Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God ” (Luke xii. 31). In the 
light of our present knowledge, can we see what the 
Kingdom must have included and what it certainly did 
not include ? 


GENERAL NOTES 

We seem to be right up against a real problem. If 
the way of Jesus were actually to be taken, society as we 
know it would simply fall to pieces. It would not be so 
much revolution as collapse. The very things men work 
for are apparently not desirable—wealth and all that it 
brings, power, influence, ease and even “justice.” An 
honest attempt to understand Jesus and to take His 
sayings at their face value seems to lead to hopeless 
confusion. Is that a reason why so few people do take 
Him seriously ? Are we not afraid of the consequences, 
not only for our own unimportant lives, but for society 
as a whole ? This is one side of the picture, and it would 
be plain folly not to look at it fairly. 

On the other hand, the ideas of Jesus make a certain 
appeal to all of us. Let us try to get out of this week’s 
study a concrete picture of what would be the main 
j elements of a society in which people did take Jesus 
seriously. Men would work in order to serve and help 
their fellows; when injured they would forgive again and 
again and would never retaliate; they would care intensely 
to make life beautiful and happy for little children and 
for all people; they would not scramble for wealth if it 
meant losing fellowship with their brothers; they would 
get rid of the wretched barriers that divide men into 
mutually exclusive groups; they would shake off the 
traditions of merely formal religion and find how they 
could worship God in serving the community. They 
would gladly accept personal loss if it would mean gain 
to the world. 


II 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 

There is something about such a dream that makes 
us almost afraid. We feel it can’t be realizable. We 
know other people and ourselves too well. We scarcely 
dare to dream of a reconstructed world on such a basis 
as this. But whether we regard it as hopeless or not, is 
it not worth while to apply this standard to society as we 
know it ? Might it not be a good test by which to judge 
our schemes for reconstruction ? At least no harm can 
come of making the attempt, and when we see where it 
carries us, we might again ask ourselves whether it is 
really such a hopeless dream, and whether Jesus did not 
supply some clue as to the way in which it might be 
realized. 

The group who have been through the daily study 
might attempt to sum up their thoughts by putting down 
in black and white the main principles which emerge 
from this week’s study. Let us try at this stage to avoid 
the discussion of practicability, and ask first what 
exactly Jesus did mean by the teaching we have reviewed 
and whether we do or do not regard these ideas as 
desirable. If the group can make a record of its conclu¬ 
sions in answer to this problem it will be of service for 
record and comparison as they proceed. We are like a 
man that sees that a table is not rightly constructed and 
wants to know exactly how to get it right. He needs a 
T-square or a pattern by which to compare it, so that he 
may not actually make things worse in his attempt to 
make them better. 

Any standard for society should be— 

(a) International , so that similar ideas can be applied 
in all lands, making a complete interrelated world society. 

(b) Intelligible , so that even the simple-minded can 
understand the principles and see what they mean and 
how they can be put into practice in life. 

(c) Practicable —at least to the point of being demon¬ 
strated as possible within the terms of human experience 
in this world. 


12 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

Do the standards of Jesus fulfil these conditions ? 
This question is asked now as one that demands an 
answer before we are through with our study. At this 
stage it may be well to record our first impressions and 
leave a detailed answer till we have proceeded further. 
We shall come back to the question again. We need 
not be surprised if we cannot at once find an answer to all 
the questions raised in this week’s study. Would Jesus 
be worth studying if all He had said yielded an immediate 
and simple return to our first thought ? The amazing 
thing about these words and incidents is that they always 
come back to one with fresh meaning and a deepening 
challenge. None of us have fully proved their depths, 
yet the child with pure heart can see far into them. What 
a lot of dynamite there is in the teachings of this man: 
and very much of it is still unexploded. It carries us 
farther than Bolshevism. There is no good thinking 
we can limit the application of the principles of Jesus 
to those things which are convenient to ourselves. This 
can only be done by refusing to think clearly or by 
definitely running away fron the consequence of our 
thinking. It will be well for us to pray, if prayer has 
any meaning for us, that we may be given courage to face 
the full meaning of the principles we have considered 
this week, and that we may not get into the serious 
position of those who see the light but are unwilling to 
follow it. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Try briefly to sum up the outstanding principle 
that emerges from each day’s study. 

2. Consider whether there are any other principles 
which can be discovered in the life of Christ that bear 
on the same questions. 

3. Do these principles commend themselves to you 
as safe guides in judging the present social order or in 
constructing a new one, or if not, why not ? 


THE STANDARD OF JESUS CHRIST 13 

4. How far do the principles of Jesus meet the three 
conditions stated in the general notes ? Are there 
any other similar conditions to be added ? If the prin¬ 
ciples of Jesus do not fulfil the conditions, let us state 
wherein they fail, and make suggestions as to any other 
set of principles which seem to be more satisfactory. 

It may be well for the group to prepare a record of 
its answers to those questions for comparison with the 
results of future study. At the end of the course all 
results should be reviewed, and we should see if they will 
stand the test of future light and thought. Such as are 
now recorded should be regarded as tentative conclusions 
only. 


SECOND WEEK 

PREVAILING STANDARDS IN THE PRESENT 

SOCIAL ORDER 


First Day. 

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple 
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there 
was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, 
full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which 
fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and 
licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, 
and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich 
man also died and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, 
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus 
in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have 
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his 
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this 
flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy 
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil 
things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 
(Luke xvi. 19-25.) 

The first thing that strikes us in considering our 
present social order is the manifest inequalities of wealth. 
Jesus clearly recognized this, as He seems to suggest in 
the above passage a world in which there is some re¬ 
dressing of the balance. Most people accept these 
inequalities as inevitable. They do not seem to regard 
the condition as remediable. Do you think we must 
accept this condition ? If not, why not ? Some will 
argue that even if we were to have a complete redistri¬ 
bution of wealth and perfect equality we should very 
soon have again the present differences, because men 
are no different and would still be wanting to get the 
better of one another. Is this so ? Let us consider 
how far poverty hinders a man’s true development, the 

14 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 15 

loss that comes from overcrowding, bad sanitation, 
overwork, child labour, lack of education, uncertainty 
of employment, etc. Is'it according to the standard of 
Jesus that these things should be perpetuated ? Which 
of the principles we have discovered are denied by these 
conditions ? Granted that wealth and even life itself 
are not the chief aims of human existence, can those of 
us who are better off be content to see very many of our 
brothers and sisters losing so much that we have ? The 
attempt to answer such questions leads us very quickly to 
another problem. What is the Christian attitude towards 
private property ? To this we must return later. To-day 
we may simply record our first answer to the questions. 

Second Bay . 

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to 
field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in 
the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, 
Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, 
without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one 
bath—the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. Woe unto 
them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow 
strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them ! 
And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are 
in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, 
neither consider the operation of his hands. (Isa. v. 8-12.) 

The deep injustice of this ill-distribution of wealth 
lies in the power which property gives to some people 
to control the lives of others. We must distinguish 
between property for use—that which we wear and eat, 
etc., ourselves and use in our service to the community— 
and property for power, that which makes us able to say 
what other people shall do. The power which the owner 
or owners of a factory have is of such a kind, as also the 
power of a landowner who can turn out his tenants. It 
is this accumulation of wealth far beyond our personal 
needs that leads to social unrest. Even if the despot 
is kindly and uses his power for the good of his subjects 


16 THE WAY OF JESUS 

we feel that the system which gives one man so much 
power is bad, and if the power passes to the hands of a 
bad man, it is very hard to control him. So it is with 
the capitalist system. 

The passage we have read shows how in very ancient 
times this evil prevailed and resulted in destitution for 
some and riotous living for others, ending in complete 
forgetfulness of their higher life. In fact, it may be 
questioned which is really in the worse case, the evicted 
poor or the debauched rich. 

The capitalist system is not to be identified with the 
ownership of private property. It is the system whereby 
the tools that many people use are possessed by a few, 
and in particular by those who do not themselves use 
them or have the sense of responsibility towards the 
user. Thus men become mere “ hands,” “ machines ” 
instead of persons. What principles are denied by 
this system ? Can it be altered so as to conform to the 
standard of Jesus, or should it be abolished? ( Cf . 
Professor Ilobhouse in Property.) 

Third Day . 

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed 
be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye 
that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep 
now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate 
you, and when they shall separate you from their company , and 
shall reproach you , and cast out your name as evil, for the Son 
of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, 
behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner 
did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that 
are rich ! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you 
that are full ! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh 
now ! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all 
men shall speak well of you ! for so did their fathers to the false 
prophets. (Luke vi. 20-26.) 

We closed yesterday with a very difficult question, 
although some, no doubt, would answer it without hesi- 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 17 

tation. We must examine further the real nature of the 
capitalist system. Exploitation is the term used for any 
action in which some men or races are used by others 
without regard to the former’s own welfare, or with only a 
secondary attention to it. When one race assumes that it 
has the right to employ the people of another race as slaves 
or in forced labour, when a woman is used to give a man 
pleasure with no regard to her rights as a woman, when 
children are put under conditions which we should 
regard as utterly wrong for our own children—then we 
see exploitation. There is no doubt that all these and 
other forms of exploitation are constantly manifested 
in connection with capitalism and encouraged by the 
underlying assumptions of the system. But are they 
necessarily a part of it ? If they are, what answer must 
we give to yesterday’s question ? 

Let us try to state briefly why we think exploitation 
is immoral, and see what relation such statement would 
have to the principles we find in the life and teaching of 
Jesus. Is a society based on exploitation likely to endure ? 
The words with which we opened the day’s study suggest 
a total upsetting of the social order, the fortunate becom¬ 
ing the unfortunate and vice versa. Why did Jesus 
foresee such a complete change ? Do you think He saw 
that the foundations were wrong ? Compare the closing 
words of the same chapter. 

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings 
and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 
he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, 
and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood 
arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and 
could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But 
he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without 
a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which 
the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; 
and the ruin of that house was great (Luke vi. 47-49). 


i8 


THE WAY OF JESUS 


Fourth Day . 

And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there 
was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down 
with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against 
his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans 
and sinners ? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that 
are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I 
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 
(Luke v. 29-32.) 

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with 
him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to 
meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, 
when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, 
brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet 
behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and 
did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, 
and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee 
which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying. 
This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and 
what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a 
sinner. (Luke vii. 36-39.) 

The fact that some men are richer than others, that 
some control the lives of others and even exploit them 
for private gain is a chief cause of another great social 
evil—the wide gulf between class and class. In the 
highly industrialized countries this is most manifest. 
But in the time of Christ there was such a separation 
as the day’s readings show. With the accumulation of 
capital in the hands of the few and the growth of credit 
and the capitalist system, the gulf has become greatly 
widened and deepened. What was the attitude of Jesus 
to it, as expressed in these and other passages ? What 
would be His attitude to-day ? Do we approve of this 
attitude ? Fundamentally there can be no solution short 
of a uniting of the interests of all men in seeking a common 
end. So long as two men or two classes or two nations 
both want the same thing, or as much as they can secure 
of the same thing, regardless of the interests of others— 
just so long there must be wars and strikes and disputes 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 19 

of all kinds. These signs of unrest speak of a deeper 
disease in our social structure. What is that disease ? In 
the two incidents before us we see people judging others 
as inferior morally or socially. This type of judgment is 
very common still as between races or nations or classes. 
The moral condemnation and the social aloofness are very 
often so closely associated as to be almost identified. 
Does this throw any light on the nature of the deeper 
disease ? Consider the loss to ourselves of such aloofness 
or contempt. We miss not only the richness of a wider 
human fellowship, but also the revelation of God in other 
types of persons or in other classes. Would it be true to the 
thought of Jesus to say, “ Inasmuch as ye respect or respect 
not one of these least ye respect or respect not Me ” ? 

Fifth Day . 

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And 
there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God 
which worketh all in all (1 Cor. xii. 4-6.) 

If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing ? If 
the whole were hearing, where were the smelling ? But now 
hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it 
hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where 
were the body ? But now are they many members, yet but one 
body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need 
of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 
Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to 
be more feeble, are necessary. (1 Cor. xii. 17-22.) 

Another element in the present social order that is 
frequently criticized is competition. Does this conflict 
in any way with the standard of Jesus as we have studied 
it ? Many feel that no human society can be carried on 
without an element of competition. We can at once 
recognize its value in stimulating men to their best efforts, 
in improving and increasing output and so forth. 
Nevertheless we see very often how competition is 
carried on in a way which crushes the weak and inflicts 


20 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

terrible hardships on persons who, for no fault of their 
own, are less efficient than others. The competitive 
system develops rivalry, trickery, false advertising, 
production for profit rather than for use, slipshod work 
in some cases and even national disputes and wars. Is 
there any place for competition in the Christian ideal of 
society ? If so, under what conditions and limitations ? 
If not, what can be put in its place to stimulate industry ? 
Behind the method of competition is the motive of per¬ 
sonal gain or class interest. 

Suppose co-operation to take the place of competition: 
might it not lead simply to the exploitation of the consumer 
by the combined producers ? How could this be avoided ? 

In the passage for the day we get a glimpse of a society 
in which each member has a function to perform, and all 
recognize its value and support him in fulfilling it. 
Would such a “ functional ” society be nearer to the 
Christian standard than the present “ acquisitive ” one, 
based on personal profit ? ( Cf . R. H. Tawney, The 

Acquisitive Society.) 

Sixth Day . 

And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should 
be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. 
And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered 
into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And 
they did not receive him, because his face was as though he 
would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and 
John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire 
to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias 
did ? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know 
not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not 
come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them . And they went 
to another village. (Luke ix. 51-56.) 

We have seen how the evils we have discussed lead 
to estrangement, and so to conflicts between peoples. 
When a dispute arises it is commonly assumed that in 
the last resort we must fight it out. But the result of 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 21 

such a reasoning is the philosophy of force, militarism, 
the conviction that physical force is really the strongest 
power in society. In the light of Jesus’ teaching, can we 
assume this to be the case ? There seems some reason, 
at any rate, to challenge the assumption. 

Is not fear one of the chief reasons that men are against 
one another ? Jesus was constantly telling men not to 
be afraid, even of those who kill the body. When people 
offended Him He would not use force to destroy them. 
Had He a secret that was greater than that of the mili¬ 
tarist ? Did He accept the view that the “ struggle for 
existence ” was inevitable ? (Cf. chap. i. in By an 
Unknown Disciple.) 

We must consider later whether there may be some 
use for coercion in human society. At this stage we 
can, perhaps, assume that there are many things coercion 
cannot do, and that a tendency to rely upon this method 
in the settlement of disputes is to be deprecated. But 
can we put anything in its place ? If we once admit 
that there are cases where nothing else can be used, how 
can we be saved from all the evils of militarism ? The 
problem for to-day seems to be whether militarism can 
be so controlled and altered as to become the expression 
of the Christ-spirit, or must it be totally abolished ? 

Seventh Day . 

And he said unto his disciples. Therefore I say unto you, 
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the 
body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and 
the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they 
neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; 
and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the 
fowls ? And which of you with taking thought can add to his 
stature one cubit ? If ye then be not able to do that thing which 
is least, why take ye thought for the rest ? Consider the lilies 
how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto 
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the 
field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will 


22 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

he clothe you, O ye of little faith ? And seek not ye what ye 
shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and 
your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But 
rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall 
be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and 
give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure 
in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, 
neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there 
will your heart be also. (Luke xii. 22-34.) 

Down deep at the heart of our trouble to-day is the lack 
of any adequate purpose in life. Unless a man knows 
where he is going, how can he direct his steps ? Unless 
society moves towards some recognized goal, how can it 
do other than blunder ? Let us ask ourselves what is 
the goal for ourselves and for society ? Some seek 
pleasure, some wealth, some knowledge, some honour, 
some power. When we think of human history we talk 
of progress. But progress towards what ? Material 
prosperity ? Power over nature ? Self-government of 
peoples ? Can we find any end which all can seek to¬ 
gether, and which if all were to seek there would be no 
danger of exploitation or conflicts ? (Cf. “ Progress/* 
in Outspoken Essays y by Dean Inge, 2nd series.) 

In the passage we have read Jesus assumes that men 
commonly seek not so much great wealth and power 
as the bare necessities of life. He dares to suggest that 
even these things should not be the main object of our 
search. If we seek this other thing which He calls “ the 
Kingdom of God,” He says all these other things will be 
given us. 

If this be true, what a simple solution for all our ills ! 
It is surely worth while, then, to ask what is this Kingdom 
of God ? This we shall do in more detail next week. 
To-day let us chiefly consider what aims society and we 
ourselves are following and wherein they are at variance 
with the standard of Jesus. 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 23 

GENERAL NOTES ON SECOND WEEK 

We have made a very hurried review of some of the 
evils of our present social order. We have not attempted 
to estimate its better side. But we may stop at the close 
of the week to recognize this. In our economic system 
the needs of millions of people are actually supplied, 
the world’s work on the whole gets done. The fact that 
people are not committing suicide on a gigantic scale 
shows that for the vast majority, life, on the balance, is 
a good thing. There is a very great deal of happiness 
in the world in spite of ill-distribution of wealth and all 
these other terrible ills. There is a lot of mutual trust 
expressed in business transactions, a lot of real co¬ 
operation, interchange between different countries, good¬ 
will and good fellowship. Really to change our system 
may well be to jump “ out of the frying-pan into the fire.” 

Nevertheless there are real evils. Compared with the 
picture of Christ’s imagining, the world seems a pretty 
poor place for many people to live in. We have seen how 
the vast differences in wealth lead to the lives of many 
being in economic bondage to the few, how these few 
can exploit their brothers to the great loss of both and to 
the break-up of human society into antagonistic groups. 
We have seen how competition leads to war and this to 
further hatred and distrust. 

Amid all this criticism let us stop first of all to ask 
ourselves very seriously why we should criticize at all. 
Criticism implies a certain standard of criticism whether 
it be recognized or not. What is that standard and where 
does it come from. In Japan the other day I asked a 
labour leader why there were labour troubles in Japan 
and a demand for better conditions. He replied that 
there could be no question about it. The criticism 
sprang from a new idea of human values. I asked him 
where it came from, and he replied that it was not to be 
found in ancient Japan and could only be traced to 


24 THE WAY OF JESUS 

Christian teaching. Again and again we find that uncon¬ 
sciously the standards of Jesus are being applied in 
criticizing the social order. If we do not use these, what 
others can we put in their place ? It is because something 
in each of us bears witness to the absolute value of this 
standard that it is so generally used, even by those who 
do not acknowledge the source. 

In these studies we are confessedly trying out the effect 
of applying the standard of Jesus. Many who apply it 
in certain instances are unwilling to apply it in others 
where, it may be, it touches their self-interest. But if 
we apply it at all, we should be honest enough both to 
acknowledge the source and to apply it thoroughly. In 
the previous week’s work we saw how very revolutionary 
the principles of Jesus are. In this w r eek’s work we have 
simply seen a few places where our present system cannot 
stand the test of such principles. Let us try to summarize 
these and others which may occur to us. The particular 
evil referred to in each study (or any other we may fix on) 
should be stated in a word or two, and then over against 
it we could place the principle of Jesus which it contra¬ 
venes. 

In our discussion we want to get to close grips with 
the problem of how far the present system involves 
essentially a denial of Christ’s way, and how far it may 
be possible so to modify it as to make it consistent with 
His teaching. Let us consider this in regard to the 
holding of private property, exploitation, capitalism, 
competition, militarism, in each case trying to substan¬ 
tiate our position with quoting some saying or act of 
Jesus. 

Let us come back to the last study. This problem of 
purpose is related to each of the preceding days. For 
example, if there is to be any reconciliation between classes 
there must be a common purpose which will actually 
bring them together in a conviction that all want the 
same tiling. If the main purpose of industry were no 


STANDARDS IN PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER 25 

longer profit, high wages, or even securing for oneself 
the necessities of life, but actually the service of the 
community, would not this unite all engaged in it ? It 
would be seen that the community could not be served 
if the workers were starving, discontented, ill-housed, 
overworked and so on. Thus all would strive to improve 
the conditions in order that the best work might be done 
for the community. Is not this an illustration of the 
working out of the law “ Seek ye first the kingdom of 
God and all these things shall be added unto you ”? 
Apply this thought to each of the questions raised in the 
daily study, and the key will be found to fit the lock. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. In what particulars does the present social order 
differ from the picture that Christ drew of a true human 
society ? 

2. Let each day’s study be reviewed, and see how far 
the category of ills covers our social disorders. Then, 
taking them one by one, let us put down the chief evil 
referred to and the reason why that evil is condemned by 
the standard of Christ. 

3. Let us try to find out if there is any agreement as 
to whether the Christian social ideal can be expressed in 
and through the present order (after it had been deeply 
modified, let us say), or whether so great a change is 
needed that we shall have to change the system altogether. 

4. The group should record any agreement on the above 
questions, even if only in a tentative way— e.g.: 

Can the capitalistic system be so altered as to express 
the Christian spirit ? 

Can competition be used in a Christian social order ? 

Can coercion be used, and, if so, under what limi¬ 
tation ? 


THIRD WEEK 

FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 

First Day. 

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye 
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and 
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 
They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never 
in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free ? 
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever 
committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth 
not in the house for ever: hut the Son abideth ever. If the Son 
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 
viii. 31-36.) 

We must now consider in greater detail the kind of 
society which Jesus tried to set up. We may take as our 
guiding thought the words the Kingdom of God. But in 
using this phrase we must remember that the King is our 
Father and that therefore the Kingdom is in point of fact 
a family. The distinctive character of the family will be 
derived from the nature of the Father. His nature should 
appear also in the sons and daughters. The main charac¬ 
teristic of God, as Jesus saw it, was love, which explains 
and conditions all other attributes. We shall return to 
this thought repeatedly in these three weeks. 

To-day we begin with the idea of freedom. Any true 
family must aim at the true freedom of each child. What 
is the reason that freedom is so generally regarded as a 
desirable end ? Is it really an end in itself ? Is freedom 
desirable if it be used only for selfish ends ? 

These questions take us right back to the problem of 
human personality. In the passage for this day we see 
first that Jesus believed in freedom, second that this free- 

26 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 


*7 

dom must come through truth, thirdly that there is some¬ 
thing in man’s own nature which limits his true freedom. 
What is that ? Do we know this in ourselves ? We 
want to be free to develop not our baser instincts, to 
gamble and drink and become vicious, but free to be 
what we know we were meant to be. How can we be 
free in this sense ? 

Second Day . 

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath 
made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bond¬ 
age. (Gal. v. 1.) 

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not 
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; thou shalt 
love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one 
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This 
I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of 
the flesh. (Gal. v. 13-16.) 

Yesterday we got some glimpse of the thought that 
freedom is not a matter of conditions merely, but of in¬ 
ward attitude. A man may be politically and economi¬ 
cally free and yet the slave of an evil habit. Can a good 
society be created out of such persons ? This considera¬ 
tion does not mean that political and economic freedom 
are unimportant, but simply that we must begin at a deeper 
point in our search for freedom and that we must not be 
deceived by thinking that changed outward conditions 
can really create free men. 

“ They are slaves who dare not be 
In the right with two or three.” 

Nations need freedom from economic bondage and 
from galling political restrictions due to foreign powers. 
But does recent history show that the peoples who strive 
for or achieve such freedom know what freedom really is 
and can use it ? When a new State is formed or an old 
one re-created do we not often find that the people use 


28 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

this fresh power not to set others free, but to impose their 
own ideas upon others ? How few leaders are so free 
from the desire for personal gain that they can really work 
first and foremost for the good of their country and be 
trusted with high office ! The struggle for freedom 
should mean not simply struggling for the right to do as 
I like, but for the right for others to do as they feel right, 
even if it be not my idea of what is best for them. How 
can we think of freedom in such a way that it will not be 
mere anarchy, each doing what is right in his own eyes ? 
Re-read the passage with which we started and see if it 
supplies an answer. 

Third Day. 

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to 
enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, 
into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend 
thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than 
having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall 
be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better 
for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than 
having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be 
salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will 
ye season it ? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with 
another. (Mark ix. 43-50.) 

This passage may seem at first a very difficult one. It 
seems to mean that the cost of real freedom may be dis¬ 
ablement. There are many things which we cannot do 
if we are to be free. To enter into the Kingdom of God 
(i.e., to be one of God’s family, sharing his Spirit) is some¬ 
times a costly thing. To gain the freedom of the family 
we may have to surrender part of what seems to constitute 
our freedom. 

This difficulty can only be explained when we face the 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 29 

question from the point of view of the whole of society. 
The purely individualistic view of life will never carry us 
very far. We cannot escape the fact that we are in a 
society, members one of another, and if one suffer all 
suffer with it. No idea of freedom which cannot be 
worked out for each member of the family consistently, 
so that all have the same measure of freedom, will be a 
final one. We must learn to think and act in a universal 
way—that is to say, in such a way that if everyone else did 
the same we should have a true family. This may mean 
very serious curtailment of individual liberty, but it will 
not be curtailed by outward laws and restrictions but by 
an inward spirit. What is that spirit ? How can we 
express the kind of restraint that is consistent with true 
freedom ? 

Let us note that in this passage Jesus does not say a 
man’s hand must be cut off by someone else, but that he 
must do it himself. Do you know any impulse which 
could ever make you do such a thing ? 

Fourth Day . 

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far 
country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them 
his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, 
and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; 
and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received 
the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them 
other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he 
also gained other two. But he that had received one went and 
digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time 
the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other 
five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: 
behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord 
said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou 
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over 
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that 
had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst 
unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents 
beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and 


3 o THE WAY OF JESUS 

faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I 
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy 
of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came 
and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping 
where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not 
strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the 
earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and 
said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest 
that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not 
strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the 
exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine 
own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give 
it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that 
hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him 
that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. xxv. 14-30.) 

We come back to the thought of the family. The mem¬ 
bers of a true family will always feel a sense of mutual 
responsibility. If one has more he will want to share 
with the others. His gain will not be a private one, his 
gifts will not be used for himself alone. There is an end 
in view—the good of all the family—and even if that 
good is thought of as material welfare it will affect his 
actions favourably and make him less selfish. 

In the story we have read to-day we see the judgment of 
Jesus on one who did not make use of his gifts. He may 
have said to himself, “ I am free to use this talent or not 
as I like. ,, Such freedom is a danger to society. By not 
using that talent he incurred his Lord’s anger. He was 
missing the great opportunity of his life. 

Fellowship, the sense of interrelation, interdependence, 
is the bond of the family. Think out how this will affect 
ideas of freedom that are current in the world to-day. We 
may ask ourselves how fellowship within a family affects 
the freedom of each child, how fellowship in a small 
community affects the liberty of each family, how fellow¬ 
ship in a country affects the liberty of cities or of provinces, 
how world-fellowship affects the liberty or sovereign 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 


3i 

rights of any one nation. These are problems that carry 
us very far, and we shall not solve them all at once, but we 
can come back to the question: Am I using my freedom 
in a way that is consistent with the larger fellowship ? 

Fifth Day . 

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing 
me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness 
and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that 
myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kins¬ 
men according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom per- 
taineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the 
giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 
whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh 
Christ came , who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 
(Rom. ix. 1-5.) 

We have used the term fellowship rather easily. Jesus 
had a very deep sense of His unity with all men. So deeply 
did it possess Him that He suffered and died for them. 
This fellowship is not a mere matter of words. See how 
it moved Paul, who had certainly caught the idea from 
Jesus. It made him almost willing to be cursed himself 
for his brethren’s sake. John Woolman, a very wonderful 
man, who followed Christ very closely, saw a vision of 
men in “ as great suffering as it was possible for them to 
be in and live,” and he felt that thereafter he could no 
longer consider himself as a distinct and separate human 
being. The same thought has been put into these 
words: 

“ My heart is made the pavement of the city street; 

Oh ! the long sorrow of the passing feet.” 

The experience by which we feel that we are so deeply 
joined with others that their sorrows and joys are ours, 
that when they are in pain we too are in pain, is a very 
deep one. If many people had this experience, what 
would be the effect upon their ideas of freedom ? 

David Livingstone saw the slaves in Airica, and felt 


32 THE WAY OF JESUS 

their loss of liberty as if it were his own—he gave up his 
home and the opportunities of self-development and 
walked many months through African jungles till he died, 
in order to set them free. His own freedom was a talent 
which he spent in order to give them freedom. Do you 
think you know anything of the secret of such a life ? 
Can you see where he got the incentive which made him 
care less for his own freedom than for that of black people 
he had never even seen ? Does such a life seem to you 
to be an example of true freedom ? 

Sixth Day. 

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, 
son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these ? He saith unto 
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto 
him, Feed my lambs. He saith unto him again the second 
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? He saith unto him. 
Yea Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, 
Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son 
of Jonas, lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved because he said 
unto him the third time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto 
him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love 
thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, 

I say unto thee. When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, 
and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be 
old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird 
thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake 
he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when 
he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. (John xxi. 
15 - 19 .) 

We come now to an even more difficult point. Paul, 
who had certainly caught the idea of Jesus, calls him¬ 
self again and again “ a slave ” of Jesus Christ. The 
person who cared so much for freedom calls people to 
follow Him at whatever cost, to give up all that for most 
people makes life happy, to surrender their freedom 
and become His slaves. Is not this quite inconsistent 
with any idea of “ liberty ” we may have ? 

The answer is to be found in two directions. In the 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 


33 

first place, there is all the difference in the world between 
having our freedom taken from us and freely surrendering 
it. In the incident we have read Jesus tells Peter that he 
will lose his freedom in the new life he is entering and 
even meet his death. To what does He appeal ? Before 
suggesting any such thing He had assured Himself of a 
certain attitude on the part of Peter. Is there anything 
in this inconsistent with Peter’s freedom ? 

In the second place, the service is to one whose only 
interest is the good of the wdiole family. Therefore this 
bondage means the full acceptance of all that membership 
in the family implies. We cannot be really free in isola¬ 
tion. Sooner or later any freedom that does not regard 
others ends in unspeakable bondage. Perfect freedom 
is the full acceptance of all that is involved in being mem¬ 
bers of one family. Do you think Paul used that phrase, 
“ a slave of Jesus Christ,” with regret or in triumph ? 
Can you understand the meaning of the phrase which 
says that God’s “ service is perfect freedom ”? Try to 
express in words any idea of freedom which is different 
from this, and which could prevail in all the world as a 
basis for a new social order. 

Seventh Day. 

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that 
is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought 
to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to 
every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members 
in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, 
being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members 
one of another. (Rom. xii. 3-5.) 

Let us come back to the central idea of the family. In 
the family the object of all must be the fullest development 
of each child so that he may be happy and healthful, that 
his talents may be used and all his powers set free. This 
end must, however, be sought consistently with the good 
of each other child. If there is a limited income it must 

a 


34 THE WAY OF JESUS 

be so used as to give each child a fair proportion. If the 
demands of one child are for a way of living that is in¬ 
consistent with the welfare of all the others he must be 
brought to see that this is so, and so gladly give up his 
private interests. This is a totally different thing from 
compelling him to do so by law, putting him in prison 
if he refuses, or in the last resort taking his life. If the 
other members of the family have the right spirit they will 
bear with him and surround him with such a different 
spirit that he will come to take his place and seek his free¬ 
dom in a way that will not curtail that of others. 

Now it is quite clear that this type of life is much harder 
to achieve than a law-ordered society in which each person 
is kept in his place by a rule he can only disobey at his 
peril. To this thought we return next week. To-day 
let us ask ourselves whether we have this family spirit 
and are prepared to accept the risks of living as a member 
of a family, even when some with whom we must live have 
not got this spirit ? Is it due to a sense of self-importance 
that we insist on our own freedom regardless of that of 
others ? Do we really think it is more necessary that we 
should be free to develop as we wish than that the child 
in the factory should be free to do so ? If we began to 
think differently, what would it mean for that child and 
for ourselves ? 


GENERAL NOTES 

In this and the two following weeks we are trying to 
get a clearer idea of what is involved in the thought of the 
Kingdom of God. It will be well still to concentrate 
attention on the actual meaning of this conception rather 
than on the very interesting question as to whether it is 
practicable, and so how we may actually try to realize it 
in this world. The study of these questions will come 
later. But we may here remark that it is clear that Jesus 
did believe His ideal to be realizable, because He was far 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 


35 

too wise a person to spend time in discussion of a mere 
dream that had no relation to fact. 

The group will do well to compare notes on the various 
ideas of freedom which they have or which are afloat in 
the world to-day. Freedom is commonly used in a poli¬ 
tical sense as implying for the individual power to vote 
and exercise his influence as a citizen, to speak his mind, 
to carry on his own life without galling and needless 
restrictions and so forth. Yet even this idea of freedom 
implies some limitations. We are not free, for example, 
to drive a motor on the wrong side of the road or at an 
unreasonable pace. Why not ? Is that any real infringe¬ 
ment of liberty ? In many countries there are factory laws 
which prevent men from employing children under certain 
ages, from having machinery unprotected, from paying 
sweated wages. These curtail the liberty of certain 
persons. Are they an unjustifiable restriction of liberty, 
and if not, why not ? What about prohibition of alcohol 
or of such a drug as morphia ? 

In the case of a free country we speak of sovereign 
rights and assume often that a country can do whatever 
it likes. But is there no feeling that one nation should be 
restricted in the exploitation of another ? 

Suppose an effective League of Nations were to pass 
laws which prevented such exploitation; would you con¬ 
sider this an infringement of liberty ? Is there, in fact, 
any limiting principle in the matter of political freedom 
which the good sense of men will agree to accept or 
which we feel they ought to accept ? 

Economically, a man may be said to be free if he has 
the power to choose his own way of living and is not so 
controlled by another that his acts may at any time mean 
that he faces destitution. But the more closely we ex¬ 
amine into economic facts the more we realize how 
necessary it is that all should observe certain principles 
of action. We are so closely connected with one another 
that if one man chooses to be lazy or to do hard work 


36 THE WAY OF JESUS 

it reacts on the whole community. Is it a good thing 
that certain people are so economically free that they have 
no sense of responsibility for the world’s work ? They 
live on unearned increment due to the labour of others. 
It makes them free, but what about the people who labour 
for their good ? 

We come then to the thought of spiritual freedom. If 
men can only have freedom in this deeper sense, will not 
all be well in the end ? But such freedom may be a men¬ 
ace to others. What about the man who uses his freedom 
not only to lead an immoral life himself but to drag others 
down into the same kind of life ? Should a man be free 
to do such a thing ? Should he be free to organize his 
friends into a group of bandits and threaten the lives and 
property of others ? How far is this virtually what is 
being done by certain capitalist groups, and can they be 
restrained consistently with any true principle of freedom ? 
Many a man uses his freedom not only to his own great 
loss but to that of others. Can a man be said to be truly 
free if he is an opium smoker and cannot break off the 
habit ? Can we reach any definition of freedom which 
makes it an end to be pursued at all costs ? 

Perhaps we had better ask rather what our freedom is 
for and why it has value. The value we attach to freedom 
is derived from the conviction that the individual has 
value. A man should be free to develop his personality 
because that personality has some worth. But the worth 
of personality has meaning—has it not ?—only because of 
the possibilities in that personality, and we know that in 
each man there are possibilities which are diametrically 
opposed to one another. There is the possibility of a 
man giving way to passion, becoming cruel, mean, greedy, 
selfish, impure; and there is also a possibility of his becom¬ 
ing kind, honest, self-denying, pure. Is it not because 
of the better possibility that we can speak of human 
worth ? The latter type of person is the type which could 
be indefinitely multiplied with advantage to society. Of 


FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP 


37 

the lower type the more we have the more difficult does 
society become. Therefore we unconsciously apply what 
may be called a social standard to individual life. Our 
very ideas of personal worth are grounded in social con¬ 
ceptions. Freedom must have a social and not a purely 
individual meaning. 

Thus we see the importance of relating these two 
conceptions of freedom and fellowship, if we are to speak 
of freedom as an object of social endeavour. This connec¬ 
tion is strongly made in the teaching of Jesus. No 
teacher more clearly taught the value of each man, woman 
and child, and therefore the need of freedom for self¬ 
development. Yet no teacher saw more clearly the need 
for a sense of social obligation. What this social obli¬ 
gation involved in the case of Jesus and some of His 
followers we have seen in our study this week. Let us 
take time to get this thought clear and to see what it means 
as a basis for a true human family. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What did Christ mean by freedom ? 

2. Is this idea of freedom the one which is current in 
the world to-day, and if not, in what particulars do the 
two ideas differ from one another ? 

3. Is this idea of freedom what the nations need to-day, 
and if not, in what particulars should it be corrected ? 

4. Can we safely talk of freedom and work for freedom, 
without also seeking to promote a deeper idea of fellow¬ 
ship and the obligations due to society from each member ? 

5. What do we mean by fellowship, and how can we 
actually promote this fellowship ? 

After this study it may be well to reconsider our ideas 
of individualism and socialism, the relation of the indi¬ 
vidual to society and society to the individual. 


FOURTH WEEK 

JUSTICE AND LOVE 


First Day . 

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: 
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto 
you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no 
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore 
shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach 
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: 
but whosoever shall do and teach them , the same shall be called 
great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That 
except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the 
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. (Matt. v. 17-20.) 

Wherever men think seriously on social questions they 
agree that justice is one of the main foundations of any 
true social order. The social order in which Jesus lived 
was one based on an ancient law that was very exacting. 
In order that this law might not be broken, even in inad¬ 
vertence, the religious teachers and moralists of the time 
insisted on the observance of numberless small points of 
behaviour, thus fencing round the law with restrictions 
that covered every department of life. It was enough to 
drive anyone to despair to think of all these little rules. 
It seemed simply impossible to keep them all. 

In the passage we read to-day Jesus appears to sanction 
this elaborate moral code. He even tells His followers 
that their righteousness must exceed that of these religious 
fanatics. Such a demand might. well cause anyone to 
turn away from Him. Fancy asking anyone to be more 
particular than these people of whom we read in another 
place that they “ bind heavy burdens and grievous to be 

borne and lay them on men’s shoulders ” (Matt, xxiii. 4). 

38 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 39 

How could Jesus ask His followers to go one better than 
that ? Three points may be noted in answer to this 
difficulty. First of all, we may say that these men were 
hypocrites, demanding a righteousness they did not live 
up to. Secondly, we may note that their righteousness 
is an external affair. Jesus thought of something that was 
internal and affected the motives and not merely the acts. 
In the third place, their idea of justice was something to 
be established through law: Jesus tried to establish it 
through love. This vital distinction must engage our 
attention this week. 

After reading this passage can we say that Jesus was 
indifferent to justice ? In the family that He sought to 
establish (the Kingdom of God) is there any place for 
injustice ? Does true love regard justice as an unimpor¬ 
tant matter, overlooking, for example, the wrong done by 
a loved one, but punishing one whom we do not love ? 

Second Day, 

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou 
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the 
judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with 
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: 
and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger 
of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in 
danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, 
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 
leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be 
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 
(Matt. v. 21-24.) 

We look to-day a little more closely at one of the points 
raised yesterday. The law against murder is a very 
excellent one for any human society. It is an illustration 
of the kind of way in which the community protects 
itself against the irresponsible and anti-social acts of the 
individual. Such acts, we say, must be prevented, and 
the criminal must be punished, in order to maintain law 
and order, show others that the law cannot be broken 


4 o THE WAY OF JESUS 

without a penalty, prevent the individual from doing the 
same again and, if possible, perhaps, help him to do better. 

Is this line of reasoning consistent with the family idea ? 
For the State the matter of chief concern is that the law 
has been broken; for the family the real trouble is that one 
member has not got the family spirit. Therefore the end 
before the State is not the same as that of the family. 
If the State has to kill the offender it will do so, perhaps 
with regret, but without hesitation. What did the chief 
priest mean when he said of Jesus, “ It is expedient that 
one man should die for the people ” ? Can a father say 
this about one of his sons ? 

The father, moreover, is less troubled by the wrong 
act than by the wrong spirit. Whether a crime is com¬ 
mitted or not may be an accident. Two men brought 
up in different ways will express hatred, one by cutting 
and bitter words, the other by knocking his enemy down. 
Which is worse from the point of view of the State, and 
which from the point of view of Jesus ? After all the 
State can only judge by the result in acts, the father must 
always try to read behind the act into the heart of his 
child. The same act committed by two children may 
mean very different things. One tells a lie to shield a 
brother, another in order to bring his brother into 
trouble. Is there no moral difference ? Looked at in 
this way justice is not so easy a question as it sometimes 
appears. 

Third Day , 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love 
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and per¬ 
secute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which 
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if 
ye love them which love you, what reward have ye ? do not 
even the publicans the same ? And if ye salute your brethren 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 41 

only, what do ye more than others ? do not even the publicans 
so ? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in 
heaven is perfect. (Matt. v. 43-48.) 

It has become clear that Jesus thought justice (or 
righteousness) was a very important element in true 
human character and therefore one of the foundations of 
the social order. It is also clear that He demanded a 
deeper idea of justice than anything which held the field 
in His day. Justice involves a standard by which to judge. 
In the State that standard is a code of laws. In the family 
it is the character of the father. The children are to show 
the same character, and if they fail to do so they fall short. 
So, in the thought of Jesus, we fail in so far as we come short 
of “ the glory of God,” fail to reproduce His character. 

In to-day’s passage we got the call of Christ that we be 
perfect— i.e., like our Father—and He defines God as one 
who is uniformly kind to good and bad alike. We are to 
have this character and therefore to love our enemies and 
not only our friends, to show the family spirit to those who 
are outside the family. This is being like God and there¬ 
fore showing true justice in ourselves, and, further, it is so 
acting as to create true justice in others. Often it may 
mean not restraining them, and even, as we have already 
seen, seeming to encourage them. But the question is, 
Will it be the means of overcoming in them the evil 
will ? Which is of greater social value, to root out anger 
and replace it by love or to prevent a murder ? And which 
is the more difficult ? Is there any other basis for a true 
human society than just persons? Justice is not an 
abstract quality: it must be embodied in men and 
women. Is there any way by which such just persons 
can be created ? That is the great social problem. 

Fourth Day . 

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman 
taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they 
say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in 


42 THE WAY OF JESUS 

the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such 
should be stoned: but what sayest thou ? This they said, 
tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus 
stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though 
he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted 
up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among 
you, let him cast first a stone at her. And again he stooped 
down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it , 
being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, 
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left 
alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had 
lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, 
Woman, where are those thine accusers ? hath no man con¬ 
demned thee ? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto 
her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 
viii. 3-11.) 

We have seen that Jesus’ idea of righteousness is adjust¬ 
ment to the standard that we see in our Father. In this 
very remarkable incident we have an illustration of how 
that thought can be applied. First consider the Pharisees. 
They come full of the sense of the woman’s sin and of 
their own righteousness. The one factor they have not 
taken into account is the character of Jesus. Face to face 
with Him they discover the meaning of righteousness as 
something far bigger than they even dreamed. They 
are self-condemned, and one by one they go out without 
condemning the woman. Next consider the woman. 
She has all the shame of having been discovered in sin. 
To her amazement no one condemns her—not even Jesus, 
who had the right to do so. She condemns herself, and 
rises up surely with a new desire to be worthy of so great 
a trust. Can we doubt that she went out a new woman ? 

Now, from the legal point of view here is a miscarriage 
of justice. A crime goes unpunished. There seems to 
be no sense of its awfulness and the danger to society of 
letting such things go on. But the incident has produced 
a new sense of shame in some people, leading, it may be, 
to some effort at reform, and in the chief sinner it creates 
out of an anti-social person one who will try to express 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 43 

purity in her own life and so become a pillar for a true 
human society. 

What has produced the effect ? Could a method of 
punishment have done half as much from the point of 
view of the end in view ? Has justice really been sac¬ 
rificed ? Do we see that what looks like condoning wrong 
may be the revelation of the most effective way of over¬ 
coming it ? 

Fifth Day . 

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place 
unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, 
saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; 
if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals 
of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil 
with good. (Rom. xii. 19-21.) 

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my 
brother sin against me, and I forgive him ? till seven times ? 
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: 
but, Until seventy times seven. (Matt, xviii. 21, 22.) 

Many people will agree that we should try our utmost 
to establish justice through love, but will argue that there 
are many cases where this method breaks down and 
we must use severer measures. This raises some very 
difficult problems. Looking at nature it seems clear 
that those who break the laws of health (let us say) suffer 
in their bodies. Do we not also see that those who break 
the laws of the mind suffer mentally ? We live in a 
universe which reacts against the breach of law, and we 
assume this universe to be the work of God. ( Cf . The 
Lord of Thought , by Miss Dougal and C. W. Emmett). 

Can we argue from this that there are cases where we 
have to use coercion in maintaining outward justice ? To 
answer this from the point of view of Jesus seems to 
require a clear conception of the nature of the motive 
behind any measure of coercion. To many it is only 
possible to think of any condemnation of wrong as express¬ 
ing itself in some form of coercion. But given the 


44 THE WAY OF JESUS 

condemnation, can we not express our judgment in the 
supreme effort of goodwill which may overcome evil ? 
This may involve a measure of coercion, but coercion 
with a redemptive purpose is a totally different thing 
from coercion merely to stop a wrong being done or to 
vindicate the law or to secure retribution for wrong 
committed to ourselves or to society. 

The problem is, How can we awaken the conscience so 
that a man sees for himself that he is wrong and begins to 
want to do right ? So far from limiting the extent to which 
love can be applied we seem to need an inexhaustible 
supply, forgiving till seventy times seven. Dare we try 
this method ? In our own case, if we have done wrong, 
which appeals to us more, to see the pain we cause others 
and that they bear no resentment and still seek our good, 
or to have them retaliate and to give as good as they get ? 
If the end be to change the person, will prison or pardon 
have more hope of securing it ? Is the mother or the 
policeman more effective in transforming evil into good ? 


Sixth Day . 

When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and 
testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of 
you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, 
doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ 
bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter 
therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be 
of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto 
him, Lord, who is it ? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I 
shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had 
dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus 
unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the 
table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some 
of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said 
unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the 
feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then 
having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. 
(John xiii. 21-30.) 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 45 

Can this way of establishing justice in the world always 
succeed ? This question must arise and cannot be evaded. 
In the relation of Jesus with Judas we have an example 
of the supreme attempt to try this method. Judas was a 
thief and took the money entrusted to him. Jesus went 
on trusting him with the money. He plotted to destroy 
the life of his best friend: Jesus still took him into His 
inner councils and abated nothing of His friendship. 
Right up to the very last Jesus tried to win Judas by love 
and trust. “ And the result was failure ! Judas betrayed 
Him and showed himself unworthy of the love and trust.” 
Yet it may be that even this judgment must be modified. 
When Judas saw the full result of his crime he was utterly 
overcome with shame and remorse. He went out and 
hanged himself. He even gave back the reward he had 
earned. At least we may say there was no need for 
society to step in and punish the criminal; he saved them 
that trouble; though curiously enough in this case the 
State would not have regarded him as a criminal ! 

But there is more to be said. Judas was met by perfect 
love. The apparently abandoned man was allowed to 
do his worst; being met thus he did in the end at least 
realize the terrible nature of his crime. Could the puni¬ 
tive methods of the State have effected this result ? 
Prisons usually confirm men in crime and make them 
feel that every man’s hand is against them. Judas dis¬ 
covered that one man’s hand was not against him and 
that the very hand which had most right to be. Men 
have real freedom. They can resist love. But how many 
would if we really tried this way? To prevent Judas 
doing his deed was a far smaller and easier thing than to 
make him see what it meant. Dare we try this way with 
people far more easily reached than Judas ? Could a 
Christian nation try this method with the Turk ? 


46 THE WAY OF JESUS 

Seventh Day . 

And when they were come to the place, which is called Cal¬ 
vary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the 
right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, 
forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted 
his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. 
And the rulers also with them derided him , saying, He saved 
others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 
And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering 
him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save 
thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in 
letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE 
KING OF THE JEWS. (Luke xxiii. 33-38.) 

Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified 
God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the 
people that came together to that sight, beholding the things 
which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. (Luke 
xxiii. 47, 48.) 

Jesus, as we have seen, was not simply a theorist. He 
put into practice His idea of justice. To do this cost Him 
His life. He knew well that this would be the result. 
On several occasions He told His followers what would 
happen. A terrible injustice was committed which 
illustrates the failure of State systems to secure real justice. 
Nevertheless, in thus dying Jesus did something which has 
done more to establish righteousness in the world than 
any amount of laws. To the very last He made an appeal 
to something in men that recognizes truth and goodness 
wherever they are seen. 

In the story of the Cross we may note (1) that Jesus 
died along with two others: He was identified with them 
in their suffering, even though they were guilty and He 
was guiltless; (2) that His love to men never wavered, even 
when they nailed Him to the Cross; (3) that even in dying 
He created in some a new idea of what true righteousness 
is and thus of their own failure. Note the expression, 
“ Certainly this was a righteous man.” Thus we see that 
He was meeting evil at the only place where it can be met 
and overcome—that is, in the heart of the person who 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 47 

does the evil. An impersonal idea of justice is absurd and 
unreal. Justice is a quality of persons and can only be 
established in and through persons. This is the essen¬ 
tially family idea of justice. 

Think how much harm is done to the cause of justice 
in the world by those who condemn others and make a 
great parade of the principles of justice, but all the while 
act unjustly themselves. The idea that such professions 
can further the cause of justice arises from a totally false 
idea of what justice is. Can we now see what this false 
idea consists in, and how deep is the difference between 
it and the justice created through love ? Let us close 
this day’s study with thinking out the meaning of the 
death of Christ in relation to the problem of righteousness. 
It would be well to try to put down some of our thoughts 
on this far-reaching question. ( Cf . Reconciliation and 
Reality , by W. F. Halliday). 

GENERAL NOTES 

We saw last week that while freedom is certainly one 
of the foundations for a true social order we need a new 
definition of freedom in order to use the term safely. 
This week we have discovered that we must find a new 
definition of justice if we are to use that term safely. 

The old idea of justice, still very prevalent, is largely 
external. It consists in comparison with a certain set 
of regulations, any departure from which constitutes a 
crime to be duly punished. It is roughly expressed by 
the doctrine of “ an eye for an eye and a tooth for a 
tooth.” The figure of justice used in the West is a 
blind woman with a pair of scales and a sword. This 
figure exactly typifies what many regard as justice. She 
is blind in order not to be prejudiced against or in favour 
of the person judged. She weighs the deeds of men 
in a balance. She strikes the offender with the sword. 
This is justice through law. 


48 THE WAY OF JESUS 

Paul saw that Jesus came to supersede the reign of 
law and introduce the rule of spirit. He says that the 
whole of the law is fulfilled in this one word, “ Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” This abrogation 
of outward law can only come as a new inward law— 
the law or principle of love—is put in its place. Justice 
thus becomes a figure of one who sees, looking with sym¬ 
pathy and pity on the wrongdoer and always ready to 
discover something better than the law can see. It is 
of the essence of this justice that it pierces behind the 
outward act and reads the inner motive. Its scale of 
values is not outward; it is relation to the character of a 
person, to the nature of God. No balancing of acts can 
avail to establish this justice; it can only come as men 
see for themselves where they are wrong and deliberately, 
freely choose the right. Not the fear of the unsheathed 
sword, but the love of right for its own sake is the motive 
that makes men just in this way. 

We shall thus get an idea of right which is not content 
merely with doing our duty. We have something more 
to render which love prompts. Duty may compel us to 
walk one mile: love sends us out rejoicing upon the second 
mile, eager to do all we can to help the loved one. The 
mother who loves her child finds delight in doing for it 
far more than the nurse, who only works for money, even 
though the latter does her duty perfectly. 

Jesus would not be content with a society that rested 
simply on this external idea of justice. To be always 
discussing our rights is often to get into quite the wrong 
spirit. There is an idea of justice that leads always to the 
law courts. The idea of Jesus leads to the happy family 
circle. It may involve gladly giving up our rights and 
suffering the consequences of trusting too much or loving 
too largely. But such a spirit does more than “ maintain ” 
justice, it creates justice. Its eyes are not on the past, 
with all the mistakes and the wrongs that have been 
committed and must be paid for in some coins of suffering 


JUSTICE AND LOVE 49 

or shame. Its eyes are upon the future, which may yet 
be made what the past was meant to be. Therefore 
its key-word is not retribution but forgiveness. The 
freely forgiven child is the one who can hope to arrive 
at true manhood. The child who lives in constant fear 
of punishment will have little hope. 

A false idea of the State is largely responsible for the 
false idea of justice. Jesus challenges this idea. The 
State has its place as a sphere for personal self-realization 
and as the co-ordinating factor in many human activities. 
But it is not an end in itself, and its laws are not of higher 
value than the interests, the true eternal welfare, of each 
citizen. It is not the ultimate human society, and it only 
represents the association of men in certain activities. 
Can we not try to get our ideas of justice free from this 
State idea ? 

The group meeting should concern itself with a free 
exchange of views on the meaning of justice, on the rela¬ 
tion of justice and love, on Christ’s life as an illustration 
of one way of establishing justice. Must we consider 
justice and love as opposites ? When Shakespeare says: 

“ Earthly power doth then show likest God’s 
When mercy seasons justice,” 

is he right in putting mercy and justice in opposition ? 
Can we not see that there is a deep difference between 
the justice of the father who loves his child passionately, 
caring always to see him do right, believing in his better 
nature and always trying to call it out, and the justice 
of the judge concerned mainly with interpreting a law 
and seeing that no one can accuse him of partiality ? 
After all, is it ever true that a crime has the same moral 
significance when committed by two persons ? When 
a slum child starving and ill-trained steals a loaf of bread 
he desperately needs to share it with his brothers and 
sisters, is it more or less blameworthy than an educated 
and prosperous man stealing it for a joke ? Which is 

4 


50 THE WA Y OF JESUS 

worse in the eyes of the law ? If the group can come 
face to face in this way with the concrete failure of many 
of our methods of justice, we may be the better able to 
estimate the value of the contribution of Jesus to this 
problem. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Can we define justice in relation to the idea of law 
and in relation to human personality ? 

2 . Was Jesus indifferent to justice ? 

3. Can justice be established by external laws, punish¬ 
ments and coercion, and, if not, how can it be established ? 

4. Is it true to say “ the only true justice is the justice 
of love ”? 

5. Consider very carefully the significance of the Cross 
in relation to the creating of justice in the world, and 
record any impressions that may be contributed or 
shared by members of the group. 


FIFTH WEEK 

AMBITION AND SERVICE 


First Day . 

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, 
saying, Master, we would that thou shouldst do for us whatso¬ 
ever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye 
that I should do for you ? They said unto him, Grant unto 
us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy 
left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know 
not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of ? and be 
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? And they 
said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall 
indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism 
that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: but to sit on 
my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it 
shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. (Mark x. 35-40.) 

Ambition is one of the great motives in society. Men 
want to excel, to do better than others, to reach positions 
of honour and ease. A man without any ambition is a poor 
spiritless thing. There can be no progress and scarcely 
any real excellence in human affairs without ambition. 
It is that spark in man’s nature which ever stirs him to be 
up and doing, to press forward, to be discontented with 
anything that is imperfect. 

Nevertheless, ambition leads to competition, and com¬ 
petition to warfare and bitterness of spirit. We ask the 
question, “ Can we get on at all without ambition ? ” 
only to be driven further to ask, “ Can we get on happily 
with it ?” To many the struggle for existence, and even 
the struggle for a comfortable existence, seems an essen¬ 
tial element in human society. If we eliminate this, do 

51 


52 THE WAY OF JESUS 

we not eliminate something which gives life its joy and 
zest ? In fact, can we eliminate it at all ? 

The story we have read to-day is full of meaning. Two 
ambitious young men come to Jesus. The very fact 
that they were in His company, and had indeed forsaken 
their means of livelihood to join Him, shows that their 
ambition was not purely personal. Jesus first lets them 
see the tremendous difficulties that lie ahead, and then 
actually tells them they must suffer these hardships, but 
that they cannot be assured of the reward. It is like 
exacting a price for a treasured article and when the price 
is paid refusing to give the article. It seems actually 
dishonest. Is this all that Jesus does with ambition: 
to use it as a means of calling out the best efforts of his 
followers, and then deny them the fruit of their labour ? 
Is there any deeper meaning in this ? What is the place 
for personal ambition in society ? (Cf. By an Unknown 
Disciple , chap, xiv.) 

Second Day. 

But Jesus called them to him , and saith unto them, Ye know 
that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise 
lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon 
them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will 
be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever 
of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the 
Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, 
and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark x. 42-45.) 

Yesterday we closed with the problem of the way 
Jesus used ambition. Perhaps the answer to our question 
may be found by an analogy. A boy goes to his teacher 
and says, “ I want to win that prize.” The teacher says, 
“ Are you able to get up early every day to work long 
hours, to deny yourself enjoyments which others are 
having ?” and the student says, “ I am able.” What can 
the teacher do ? He cannot even then promise the prize. 
There may be a cleverer boy competing who will take it 


AMBITION AND SERVICE 53 

from him. He may fall sick when the examination is 
held. Are there not many cases in life when we pay 
the price but do not get the thing we want ? Can you 
think of other similar situations ? 

What, then, is the true answer ? Surely it is more impor¬ 
tant that the student gain the knowledge than that he 
gain the prize. So the creation of true character is more 
important than the rewards which come to good men. 
All can gain character, few gain great rewards. All can 
be worthy of high trust, not many may be put in such 
positions. 

If, then, ambition can be directed not so much to the 
outward success as to the inward achievement, will it not 
become a great social asset ? Instead of leading to com¬ 
petition and strife, it may lead to the development of 
each man towards his own highest life. 

In to-day’s passage we have the sequel to yesterday’s. 
The object of ambition is to be—what ? If we are to 
be worthy, for what shall we strive to be worthy ? for 
commanding others, places of high rank and big salary ? 
or for serving well, for being given what people call the 
menial positions ? 

Jesus seems to say, “ I welcome your ambition. God 
gave it you. It will help you to overcome the immense 
difficulties that lie ahead. But harness it to no personal 
end. Let it make you fit for the highest place in My 
kingdom—that of the servant.” 

Third Day. 

And there was also a strife among them, which of them should 
be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings 
of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exer¬ 
cise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall 
not he so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the 
younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For 
whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth ? 
is not he that sitteth at meat ? but I am among you as he that 
serveth. Ye are they which have continued with me in my 


54 THE WAY OF JESUS 

temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father 
hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table 
in my lungdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel. (Luke xxii. 24-30.) 

One of the things that must constantly impress us as 
we study the life and teaching of Jesus is its extraordinary 
modernity. Many passages might have been written 
under the influence of ideas which we are pleased to 
think of as the very latest. Modern democratic ideas 
turn increasingly from the old ideas of authority. The 
man who is supposed to belong to a different order of 
being, whom his subjects or slaves call “ benefactor,” 
with servile hypocrisy, is now quite out of date. What 
we need is one who is appointed by his fellow-men because 
he is prepared to serve them in a disinterested way. The 
leader of a trade union or the president of a republic is 
not in essence a kind of superman set up to control the 
lives of others. He is the arch-servant. 

It is in this sense that Christ offers Himself to men. 
He seems to think in terms of a free society, and He is 
among them as a servant. The qualification for author¬ 
ity (judging the tribes) is simply that His followers have 
learned that service is the chief thing and that they can 
only become great by serving. 

Is this not exactly the idea of leadership needed in the 
world of to-day ? Is there any hope of creating a new 
society unless we have such leaders ? How can we get 
them ? It was not to a man pushing his way to the front 
in politics that America turned in her sorest need. It 
was to one who was serving faithfully in his own small 
world, Abraham Lincoln. 

Fourth Day . 

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an house¬ 
holder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers 
into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers 
for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went 


AMBITION AND SERVICE 


55 

out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the 
marketplace, and said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, 
and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their 
way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and 
did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and 
found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye 
here all the day idle ? They say unto him, Because no man 
hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vine¬ 
yard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when 
even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward 
Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the 
last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about 
the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when 
the first came, they supposed that they should have received 
more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And 
when they had received it , they murmured against the good- 
man of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, 
and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the 
burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, 
and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with 
me for a penny ? Take that thine is , and go thy way: I will 
give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me 
to do what I will with mine own ? Is thine eye evil, because 
I am good ? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many 
be called, but few chosen. (Matt. xx. 1-16.) 

Let us turn to another aspect of life—the economic 
world. How are we to get the best work out of men ? 
Is it possible unless personal ambition comes into play ? 
We see industry organized for profit. A great many things 
are made which are not absolutely needed. Many people 
cannot obtain the bare necessities of life. Why ? Be¬ 
cause industry is developed where it pays and not at all 
necessarily in relation to actual need. If people need 
clothes but cannot pay for them, we say in economic 
terms there is no “ demand ” and so there will be no 
“ supply.” 

Again, where men work chiefly for personal profit there 
can always be said to be a latent antagonism between 
different groups. This is most evident as between 
capitalist and worker in a particular industry where the 
profits are regarded as a pool from which each wishes 


56 THE WAY OF JESUS 

to draw all he can. Thus we get strikes and all the other 
manifestations of the “ class-war.” These divisions are 
the very antithesis of the family spirit. Can they possibly 
be overcome so long as men work for gain, so long as 
personal ambition is the ruling motive ? 

But suppose the substitution of another kind of ambi¬ 
tion. Once let people work in order to produce what the 
community needs, and without the idea of making as much 
as possible for themselves, and we should strike at the 
very root of these social disorders and divisions. A 
contingent question at once arises: How are men to 
be paid ? Ought it to be according to the amount they 
produce or the market value of their work or according 
to their need ? This question seems to have been faced by 
Jesus, who, in the story we have read to-day, announces 
the revolutionary idea that payment shall be according 
to need and not according to amount of work. Is this 
a sound idea for our economic structure ? ( Cf . Unto 
this Last , by Ruskin.) 

Fifth Day . 

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, 
Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into 
the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow 
me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway 
left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, 
he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John 
his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their 
nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship 
and their father, and followed him. (Matt. iv. 18-22.) 

The objection that arises again and again to the position 
which Jesus seems to have taken may be stated thus: “ Of 
course it would be a much better social order if men 
would act in this way, but they simply do not and will 
not. You cannot get the best work out of the average 
man unless you drive him to it by hope of reward or 
fear of loss.” Many people seem to think that fear of 


AMBITION AND SERVICE 57 

economic disaster is the only thing that keeps the majority 
at work and that people are so incurably lazy that if they 
were, for example, paid as we saw in the last chapter they 
would not work at all. 

Now it is an undoubted fact that the best work the 
world has ever seen has not been done for personal and 
still less for sordid motives. The scientific student who 
pours out his life in research; the doctor who offers his 
talents, and it may be life itself, in helping the needy, 
often with very little reward; the mother who wears her¬ 
self out for the sake of her children; the unnumbered 
kindnesses of man to man—are not these among the 
choicest things in the world ? 

Jesus again and again appealed to something in men 
that was not a motive either of fear or of gain. In the 
story to-day we see how some men responded. They 
left an occupation where their living was assured to join 
One who had nowhere to lay His head. A fool’s enter¬ 
prise you might call it. Certainly neither fear nor hope 
of reward could enter in. Jesus called men to serve their 
fellows and they obeyed. The nation calls men to lay 
down their lives in war, and they come. Why should 
not industry call men into the noble service of making 
what men need for the joy of helping their fellows ? 

Sixth Day . 

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, 
where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from 
the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: 
but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, 
and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: 
and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then 
saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son , which 
should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three 
hundred pence, and given to the poor ? This he said, not that 
he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the 
bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let hei 


58 THE WAY OF JESUS 

alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For 
the poor always ye have with you: but me ye have not always. 
(John xii. 1-8.) 

Perhaps this would mean lessened production, at any 
rate for a time. But it may be that many people would 
really be better off if they were worse off. Perhaps one 
reason that the way of Jesus seems so difficult and unat¬ 
tractive is that we have become too much bound up in 
things, and are not placing the right values on our own 
acts or those of others. 

Some years ago young people were brought from 
London who had committed various crimes. They were 
put in a lovely country place and allowed to run wild. 
They were fed and cared for and not told that they could 
only have food if they worked for it. They seemed the 
most unfavourable type for such an experiment, yet one 
after another they came and asked for work'—some not 
until they had been idle for weeks. One reason why 
people will only work under stern economic necessity 
is that the whole structure of society has been wrong: 
they have never known the joy of work for its own sake. 
To be idle is the only way they know of showing they are 
economically free. There is nothing to prove that man 
is by nature so idle that he will only work if driven to it. 

Jesus planned to substitute a finer motive than fear 
or personal gain. That motive is love. In this incident 
we see how love prompted a reckless gift irrespective 
of cost. Jesus approved, not because He did not care 
for the poor, as we well know by His whole life, but be¬ 
cause He had a different set of values and He saw the true 
spiritual value of this gift. Such service makes life 
beautiful and calls forth the spirit of service in others. 
Do we know the joy of serving out of pure love ? If not, 
we have missed one of the finest things in life. 


AMBITION AND SERVICE 


59 


Seventh Day . 

There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing 
without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat 
about him, and they said unto him, Behold thy mother and thy 
brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying. 
Who is my mother, or my brethren ? And he looked round 
about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother 
and my brethren ! For whosoever shall do the will of God, 
the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. (Mark 
iii. 31-35.) 

We come back today, in the light of these three weeks* 
study, and ask what light we have gained on this family 
idea of society. Is it not clear that if the world were 
like a family it would be a totally different place from what 
we now see ? Can we picture the difference more clearly 
now that we have studied these principles ? A totally 
new idea of society, a social order in which men really 
acted to one another as to brothers, in which we cared 
more for another’s freedom than our own, in which justice 
was secured through forgiving love, in which our ambition 
took the form of seeking for opportunities to serve. This, 
according to Jesus, is God’s will, and those who do God’s 
will are in His family. Paul says, “ The earnest expecta¬ 
tion of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons 
of God.” Is it any wonder he felt this when he saw what 
a totally different world the “ sons of God ” were in. 

Yes, they are in it already. They are not simply 
trying to create it —for them it is a present fact. This is 
what Jesus meant when He said, “ Of such is the kingdom 
of God,” “ The kingdom of God is within you.” Already 
He possessed within His own experience the secret and 
promise of the new order. He gathers into His family 
those who know this new life at work in them. “ Except 
one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 
To be members of the family we must be born into it. 

When the family interests are first in all our lives it 
is easy to see how we find the solution to many questions. 


6o 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

We find freedom in fellowship: we seek justice through 
love. We are ambitious to serve. Next week we shall 
turn to the problem of ways and means. To-day let us 
close the study by allowing ourselves to dwell on the 
glorious prospect of such a world and asking ourselves 
if we are ready to pay the price in our own lives. 


GENERAL NOTES 

We set ourselves a very serious problem this week and 
one on which there may well be strong differences of 
opinion. What motive is adequate to keep the world’s 
work going and to secure true progress ? Darwin has 
taught us to see, all through life, the struggle for existence. 
We recognize this as a factor in the evolution of higher 
from lower forms, and in the survival of the fittest. 
Through countless ages a process seems to have been 
going on in which the weak have been crushed by the 
strong. In the early stages of man’s history we can see 
the same stern fight. Even to-day, wars, strikes, revo¬ 
lutions tell the same tale. 

In the midst of all this a voice is raised which seems to 
announce another and a higher law. Above the sound of 
battle is the song, “ Peace on earth, goodwill among men,” 
that announced the coming of Jesus. He summons men 
to an entirely new struggle. He tells them they can 
never know this true society—this Kingdom of God— 
until they struggle to serve one another in love, until 
they have lost their passion for personal ends. “ He who 
would gain life must lose it.” 

Is there anything in this view of life ? We may remem¬ 
ber that scientists such as Kropotkin or Kidd have seen 
a new idea working even in the animal world, called the 
“ struggle for the life of others.” This is seen in the 
mother who will give her life for her cubs, in the spirit 
which binds the pack together. Is this a foretaste of the 
new law that Jesus announced ? 


AMBITION AND SERVICE 


61 


At any rate, there can be no question that this thought 
of Jesus alters a great many of our preconceived notions. 
Let the group try to decide what the scale of payment 
would be and what place there is for bargaining, for 
example, in such a world as Jesus thought of. Let us 
consider the wage-system in the light of this thought 
of service. Let us look again at capitalism and at ex¬ 
ploitation. Let us ask ourselves what it is that has been 
the incentive for the things in our own life that we have 
most satisfaction in looking back upon. 

We saw at an earlier point that in the debate between 
competition and co-operation there is something to be 
said on both sides. Can we now go back to our conclu¬ 
sions and ask ourselves whether they have been confirmed 
or changed by this week’s study ? 

The group should also save a little time to review the 
whole set of ideas which have occupied these three weeks. 
We saw that one chief fault in society was its lack of 
purpose. Here we come back to the question, What is 
the purpose for human society as Jesus saw it, and how 
does this compare with other goals ? Is it the same as 
that of Karl Marx, and if not, why is it different ? Is it 
more or less revolutionary ? Where does the revolution 
Jesus thought of begin ? 

Unity, equality of opportunity, freedom for self- 
expression, true fellowship, right relations with others, 
co-operation—these are some of the characteristics of the 
family life where God is our Father. Is there anything 
in these ideas which is contrary to our highest ideals ? 
Have we any ideal for human society which is not included 
in some way in these and similar characteristics of such 
a family ? These are the questions the group must ask 
if it is to form an estimate of the value of the standard of 
Jesus as we now see it more clearly. Let us try to think 
these things through and not be afraid of the consequences 
of our thinking. 


62 


THE WAY OF JESUS 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 



1. What would be the best motive for economic pro¬ 
duction and why ? 

2. Can this motive really be effective in keeping the 
economic machine at work ? 

3. What idea of leadership have we got, and how does 
this compare with the ideas of Jesus as we have studied 
them this week ? 

4. What would be our idea of an ideal wage-system ? 
Compare results with earlier records on the same topic. 

5. Reviewing the foundations of the social order as 
Jesus stated them in word and life, how do they impress 
us— 


(i a ) As to their desirability ? 

(b) As to their revolutionary character ? 

(c) As to their practicability ? 


We need not spend long on the last point, as it comes 
up in the following studies. Here we can record a first 
impression. 


SIXTH WEEK 

THE MEANS AND THE END 


First Day . 

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the 
mountains and be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall 
flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye and 
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the 
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways and we will 
walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge 
among the nations and shall rebuke many people: and they 
shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into 
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more. (Isa. ii. 2-4.) 

Nothing less than a complete transformation of society 
seems to be required if the ideas of Jesus are to be ex¬ 
pressed in our social order. The question we have now 
to consider, is How can such a transformation be effected ? 
It is always very important, in considering method, to get 
the end in view quite clearly before our minds. By a confu¬ 
sion as to the end we may easily make the mistake of using 
a method which cannot possibly bring the results we desire. 

To take one example in recent history. The Great 
War was called a “ war to end war.” It would of course 
be possible to end war by killing off everyone in the world. 
But, short of this, war never can end war. It multiplies 
the hatred and prejudice and bitterness that are prime 
causes of war. Real peace can never come because one 
part of the world impresses its idea of good upon the other. 
Nor can freedom be created by means which essentially 

63 


64 THE WA Y OF JESUS 

deny or lower the value of the person, as does war. Free¬ 
dom has no meaning apart from personal worth. There¬ 
fore the war method is not calculated to achieve some of 
the ends for which those who fought sincerely hoped. 

The end for society which Jesus saw may be expressed 
something like this: “A world-family in which each 
child has freedom and lives in fellowship with his brethren 
and with his Father; where justice is sought and estab¬ 
lished through patient love and forgiveness, enduring the 
wrong rather than retaliating; where men strive neither 
for wealth nor for mastery, but for positions of service; 
where there is true co-operation, all seeking by love to 
serve one another.” Let this idea of the true social 
order grip us, and let us think over what this means for 
us in the matter of method. 

Second Day . 

And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and 
it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many 
were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to 
receive them , no, not so much as about the door: and he preached 
the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one 
sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they 
could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered 
the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they 
let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus 
saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins 
be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting 
there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus 
speak blasphemies ? who can forgive sins but God only ? And 
immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so 
reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye 
these things in your hearts ? Whether is it easier to say to the 
sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, 
and take up thy bed, and walk ? But that ye may know that 
the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith 
to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up 
thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately 
he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; inso¬ 
much that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We 
never saw it on this fashion. (Mark ii. 1-12.) 


THE MEANS AND THE END 


65 

The first question that confronts is us that of changing 
the conditions. We are bound to recognize that (1) the 
present conditions are in themselves a denial of and a 
challenge to the standard of Jesus Christ; (2) these con¬ 
ditions make it hard, if not impossible, for many people 
to become what they were meant to be; (3) they should 
therefore be changed, and very radically changed. 

At the same time we must admit that a change in con¬ 
ditions is not enough. Jesus told the rich young ruler 
that his wealth stood in his way, and He seemed to think 
the poor (though not necessarily the destitute) had 
actually a better chance of entering the Kingdom of God 
than the rich. To assume that changed conditions, by 
giving many a better chance, are going to make men 
better, is to assume something that is contrary to experi¬ 
ence. Among the poor we find many beautiful charac¬ 
ters under conditions which seem hopeless—among the 
rich there are many villains under what we should call 
very favourable conditions. 

The problem may be stated thus: Are we to try to 
change conditions first and hope that men will thus be 
more easily changed, or are we to try to change men and 
hope that such changed men will alter the conditions ? 
Where shall the reformer begin ? 

The story for to-day gives some idea of the answer of 
Jesus. Here is a man whose disease is a condition making 
it hard for him to love God and accept His will. Jesus 
deals with both the man and his conditions. First He 
seeks to change the man himself. But He does not stop 
there. He enlists the man himself on His side in an 
effort to change conditions. 

Can this incident be taken as a guide for our work 
to-day ? By concentrating on conditions alone, or even by 
dealing with them first and leaving the problem of chang¬ 
ing persons to come later, can we hope to create a family ? 
What is there in the method of Jesus which is frequently 
forgotten by social reformers and revolutionaries ? 


66 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

While Jesus believed in the immense possibilities in 
every man and appealed fearlessly to men, He never made 
the mistake of shutting His eyes to sin—the fact that men 
have something in them which holds them back from 
realizing these possibilities. 

Third Day. 

And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and 
scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing ? And they said, Nothing. 
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let 
him take it , and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, 
let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, 
that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And 
he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things con¬ 
cerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here 
are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough. (Luke 
xxii. 35 - 38 .) 

And behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched 
out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the 
high priest’s, and smote oft his ear. Then said Jesus unto him. 
Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the 
sword shall perish with the sword. (Mat. xxvi. 51-52.) 

We come back to-day to another problem already 
touched on. Can we secure the end we have in view by 
coercion ? It is clear that what we need is no mere 
change of conditions, however desirable that end may be. 
We need to create a new spirit in the world, and that 
needs new men and women. Can man be coerced into 
real goodness ? No doubt coercion may prevent men 
from doing evil, but what effect does it often have upon 
their desire to do evil ? Think of times when as a child 
you were prevented from doing something you greatly 
wanted to do, or even merely forbidden to do it. What 
was the effect upon your desires as apart from the effect 
on your action ? Psychologists tell us that many nervous 
and other ills are due to “ suppressed desire.” This 
forcible suppression may work an immediate good at the 
expense of a great future ill. What is the usual effect 
of prison on the criminal ? It might be well to discover 


67 


THE MEANS AND THE END 

how many criminals in your town are habitual ones— 
that is, how many people in jail at certain times are serving 
second, third, fourth or later sentences. The actual 
facts might surprise some of us. 

When Jesus told His disciples to take a sword He seems 
almost to suggest that the time has now come for coercion. 
But the incident which follows shows clearly that He was 
using figurative language, as we also see by His impatient 
“ That is enough ” when His followers failed to see the 
real meaning. It was said in the early Church that Jesus, 
in disarming Peter, disarmed all His followers. Do you 
think this follows either from this incident or from all 
that we have learned of the ideas of Jesus in these weeks ? 

Fourth Bay . 

And the Jews* passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to 
Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and 
sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when 
he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of 
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the 
changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto 
them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not 
my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples 
remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath 
eaten me up. (John ii. 13-17.) 

So Jesus Himself resorted to violence when necessary. 
This certainly looks as if He believed that there was some 
place for coercion. Before we try to examine that problem 
further let us look closely at the incident. In the first 
place, the whip of small cords (often quoted as if it justified 
the use of guns and poison-gas) was only used on the 
cattle. This is perfectly clear in the Greek. Secondly, 
even if it were used on the people it is clearly quite im¬ 
possible for one man, relying only on such a weapon, to 
drive forth a crowd of persons whose profits are being 
stopped. Thirdly, here is one man against a number: 
we are bound to ask what was the power on which he 
relied ? Is it not clear that it was the power of a person- 


68 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

ality who was in the right—the spiritual force which in 
the last resort, if we but knew how to use it, is far more 
powerful than any physical one. 

In the light of this and other things we have been 
learning about Jesus, are we justified in saying: 

1. That coercion must not be used in any way that 
deprives a man of his free choice between good and ill ? 

2. That coercion must be used, if at all, only in the 
interests of love and with the good of the coerced person 
always in mind ? 

3. That coercion must not break our fellowship with 
others ? 

4. That coercion is not creative, at best it only restrains 
and should be used with the utmost care and afterthought, 
not in a moment of unthinking passion ? 

5. That the indiscriminate use of coercion against 
masses of people, at long range, and against many who 
are not themselves guilty, is not a Christian method ? 

6. That where coercion is used it should be under 
conditions that ensure its impartial and judicial rather 
than its retaliatory use—and above all it should be the 
instrument of redemption ? 

Can we say anything more about coercion from the 
point of view of Jesus ? Does this study help us to 
see the difference between an army and a police force ? 
Between a father dealing with his son and a king coercing 
his subjects ? 

Fifth Day . 

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be 
tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and 
forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the 
tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, com¬ 
mand that these stones be made bread. But he answered and 
said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by 
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then 
the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a 


THE MEANS AND THE END 69 

pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son 
of God, cast thyself down: for it is written. He shall give his 
angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall 
bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt 
the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an 
exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms 
of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All 
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship 
me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for 
it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him 
only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, 
angels came and ministered unto him. (Matt. iv. 1-11.) 

This story relates an inward struggle in the life of 
Jesus. No doubt it reached the disciples from the lips of 
Jesus, and He probably put it into pictorial form so that 
they should the more easily remember. The point of 
the struggle seems to lie in the question as to whether it 
was legitimate to make any kind of compromise in seeking 
to establish the Kingdom of God. Taking the third 
temptation only (as we have no time to examine each in 
detail), we see the possibility of an immediate success 
opened up to Jesus if for a moment He would give place 
to the spirit of evil. This is the kind of suggestion that 
comes to a reformer who, in order to gain a position from 
which his influence can be felt, will pay a bribe or consent 
to immoral practices. How easy it must seem to regain 
the lost ground; how small the price in order to gain a 
larger opportunity; how hard to wait and perhaps never to 
reach the position coveted, not for personal reasons, but 
for the sake of the good that can be done by getting there ! 

Nothing seems more admirable in the life of Jesus than 
His steadfast refusal to compromise with evil. The 
arguments are often very subtle and the idea of personal 
advancement often biases those who wish to be quite 
impartial in judging. Is it worth getting a position, even 
of great possibilities of good, if you have to sell your soul ? 
When you reach it by the methods of compromise will 
you be able to do what you now desire ? Will you find 


70 THE WAY OF JESUS 

yourself bound hand and foot by your own past ? Jesus 
was bound to the Cross, but He was never bound by any 
unworthy compromise: He was always free to speak His 
whole mind and to stand for His whole ideal. Is not 
such freedom truly enviable ? This way of Jesus is 
clearly no child’s play. It takes a man to follow it. 


Sixth Day . 

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called 
Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews ? Jesus 
answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others 
tell it thee of me ? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew ? Thine own 
nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what 
hast thou done ? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this 
world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my ser¬ 
vants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now 
is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him. 
Art thou a king then ? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am 
a king. To this end was I bom, and for this cause came I into 
the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every 
one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto 
him, What is truth ? And when he had said this, he went out 
again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault 
at all. (John xviii. 33-38.) 

The story we read yesterday was not an isolated ex¬ 
perience of Christ’s. All through His life the possibility 
kept opening up to Him. Once they tried to make Him 
king, thinking no doubt that He would lead them against 
the Roman tyrant (John vi. 15). On another occasion they 
led Him into the city with shouts and were ready to follow 
Him in a revolt. Jesus was seeking another kind of king¬ 
dom. We cannot doubt that He shared the desire of His 
nation for political freedom, and wished to help them to 
a larger life than was possible under the Roman yoke. 
But He saw that there was only one road which led to the 
goal. A few years later the Jews did rise in revolt. 
They were crushed by Rome, and never after (till the last 
year or two) have they had a home of their own. The 


THE MEANS AND THE END 71 

method of revolt which Jesus refused to follow did 
actually fail. 

But w r hat of the way of Jesus ? Let us picture this 
scene. Pilate represents the greatest known power in 
the world with its wealth and organization, its armies 
and its laws—the Roman Empire. Jesus stands before 
him unarmed, forsaken, with no influence and no follow¬ 
ing. Jesus believed that all power had been given to 
Him (Matt, xxviii. 18). Rome crushed Jesus. Mili¬ 
tarism triumphed over love. But mark the sequel. In 
four hundred years’ time Jesus’ followers had multiplied 
by tens of thousands and Rome was decaying. To¬ 
day the Roman Empire is a subject only for historical 
study: Jesus is worshipped in every nation, and millions 
would die for Him. Which power is proved greater ? 
Did Jesus, in refusing to compromise in turning from 
the sword, actually establish a kingdom more enduring 
than any Pie could have gained in other ways ? What 
does this mean for the social reformer ? 


Seventh Day . 

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might 
entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their 
disciples with the Herodians, saying. Master, we know that thou 
art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest 
thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 
Tell us therefore, what thinkest thou ? Is it lawful to give 
tribute unto Caesar, or not ? But Jesus perceived their wicked¬ 
ness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ? Shew me 
the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And 
he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription ? 
They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render 
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto 
God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these 
words , they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. (Matt, 
xxii. 15-22.) 

The week’s study has raised a very interesting and far- 
reaching problem. If we accept the standard of Jesus 


72 THE WA Y OF JESUS 

and choose His way, what will it mean in our relation to 
the State ? His contemporaries clearly saw that the issue 
was raised, and they brought it to Him in a concrete 
problem. Should they pay taxes to a State that was 
actually unjustly oppressing them ? This form of the 
question is a very difficult and yet a very practical one. 
He answered, as He so often did, by an act that was a 
picture. They had to work out the problem for them¬ 
selves; He simply supplied the material for the answer. 

Would it be a fair way of summarizing this answer to 
say that Jesus recognizes the right of the State in regard 
to property but not in regard to personality ? No doubt 
the State has certain rights which must be recognized, 
yet it would seem at times to claim what no one ought to 
give. Would you be justified in answering the call of 
the State to fight in a war that you felt to be clearly in an 
unjust cause— e.g ., to oppress a weak nation ? Suppose 
you believed war to be wrong in itself, what should be 
your attitude when the State to which you belonged went 
to war in a cause that seemed to you a just one ? These 
are questions which concern personality. Can we ever 
give to the State the same unquestioning obedience that 
we owe to God or to the whole human family ? 

Yet the State has a certain function in regard to social 
reconstruction. What can State action do, and what can 
it not do ? If the State compromises or coerces in ways 
we cannot approve in seeking for an end we do approve, 
how are we to act ? These are some of the questions 
that Jesus’ standard raises for those who accept it. They 
will engage our further thought. (Cj. Christ and C cesar.) 

GENERAL NOTES 

What has our week’s study revealed to us about the 
method of social progress that is calculated to produce 
the kind of world that Jesus spoke about—the Kingdom 
of God ? So far our study is mainly negative. We 


THE MEANS AND THE END 73 

see that a world-family needs for its establishment 
something more than changed conditions, that coercion 
is at best a very doubtful weapon to use, and that we 
compromise at infinite peril. This may suggest at first 
sight that we cannot use any of the ordinary methods of 
action, and that we had better attempt something less 
ambitious than such a world-family. In fact, we are 
facing again the apparent impracticability of this ideal. 

Let us apply these thoughts to a consideration of the 
three methods of social progress that are commonly 
advocated, politics, revolution and education. In poli¬ 
tics men have to legislate for the average man—that is to 
to say, we cannot pass laws that at once achieve our ideal, 
because men are not yet able to see their value or work 
them fully. Such legislation becomes a dead-letter. This 
involves some degree of compromise. It is well known 
that statesmen and politicians constantly have to com¬ 
promise in order to pass laws, both by lowering their own 
ideals and by supporting other things they do not approve 
that they may secure the support of persons who will 
only give it on such terms. 

How far is such compromise justifiable, and what are 
the conditions which should be insisted on if it is to be 
used at all ? 

Again, political action involves some measure of coercion. 
Just how much depends upon the size of the majority, 
the vigour of the minority and so forth. In some cases 
it may amount to using armed force. Is it true to say 
that a voter in a democratic society virtually signifies his 
willingness to accept the rule of the majority, and that 
therefore such government is by consent rather than by 
coercion ? Very often the fact that such force can be 
used if needed acts as a strong factor in securing obedi¬ 
ence to law. This method may be of value in recording 
the advance made in public thinking and in preventing 
a minority from holding back advance, but can it create 
a family ? This is the question we have to press home 


74 THE WAY OF JESUS 

if we are to consider the relation of politics to the standard 
of Jesus. Politics, in short, seems to concentrate on con¬ 
ditions and to secure changes in conditions both by 
compromise and by coercion. 

When we consider revolution we can easily see why it 
appeals to many who feel the political method to be slow 
and dangerous. Violent revolution calls for fearless 
uncompromising action and enlists many who are ready 
to die for an ideal. It is often a creative force liber¬ 
ating new ideas in the world. What it gains in these 
directions it generally loses in being so largely coercive. 
Moreover, the fact that there is a class-war and that 
bitterness and hatred are increased means that it is so 
much harder to create a true family. Very generally 
revolutions lead to reaction, and the gains are much less 
than we hoped. Judged by this week’s study, can we 
say that violent revolution is a good means of creating a 
family ? 

The method of education is open to many fewer objec¬ 
tions. It seeks to deal with men’s spirits and not simply 
with conditions. It should not be coercive, although 
some types of education do actually amount to a form of 
coercion, as young people are forced into a certain mould. 
There is no need to compromise with your ideal, although 
the close relation of education to the State often results 
in bringing pressure on teachers to do so. The method 
of education may seem to be a very slow one, but after 
all, if it will produce the result aimed at, will it not be 
better than an apparently quick method that does not get 
us any farther in the end ? 

The group might well spend time in considering how 
far our education is really creative and helping to form a 
world family of the kind Jesus thought of. For example, 
is it so influenced by the State idea as to create a narrow 
patriotism rather than an international spirit ? Is it so 
influenced by business ideas as to train for competition 
and self-advancement rather than for co-operation or 


THE MEANS AND THE END 75 

service ? Do the children learn the joy of giving and 
fear to become too rich ? Are the methods of discipline 
consistent with the idea of justice through love ? Is 
the fundamental idea respect for the personality of the 
child, an attempt to develop this for freedom and service, 
training the child to take his right place in the commu¬ 
nity ? In this connection we can recall the tremendous 
emphasis that Jesus placed on the children and on the 
child spirit. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What can we say negatively about the methods 
which will be effective for realizing the ideas of Jesus for 
a new social order ? 

2. Can we reach any agreement as to the use of coercion 
in principle and as applied, for example, in the training of 
children, in the restraint of criminals, in the making of 
laws, in international war, in labour disputes ? 

3. What do we mean by compromise ? Is there any 
place for compromise of any kind, and if so, of what kind ? 
What are its dangers— 

(a) To the compromiser ? 

(b) To the realization of social ends ? 

4. What is the value and what the danger of— 

(a) Revolution, 

( b ) Political action, 

(c) Education, 

in relation to the hope of creating a world family ? 

5. Can you reach any agreement on the limits of the 
duty a man owes to the State ? Be clear in defining 
the difference between the State, the nation and the 
community. 


SEVENTH WEEK 

CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 
(a) The Individual 


First Day . 

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and 
when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened 
his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in ' 
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they >- 
that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: a 
for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do * 
hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed } 
are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the t 
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.* 7 
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men 
shall revile you, and persecute you , and shall say all manner of 
evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding 
glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they 
the prophets which were before you. (Matt. v. 1-12.) 

We have seen that the beginning of the revolution 
according to Jesus Christ is in the life of the individual. 
This week we are to study the type of life out of which a 
new social order can be built, or, in other words, the type 
of persons who will be the creators of such an order. All 
social systems are caused by the action and interaction 
of persons. Selfish persons produce soulless systems. 
What kind of person is needed to create a world family ? 

This was the problem of Jesus and He stated in very 
simple language the type He thought of as the creators of 
the Kingdom of God. They would be blessed, not be¬ 
cause happiness was their chief aim, but because “ they 

had chosen the right means to a good end, because they 

76 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 77 

will gain their end ” (G. B. Robson, The Way to Person¬ 
ality), Each of these sentences is worthy of a separate 
study. To-day we can only gain a general view of the 
type as a whole, and each beatitude can be summarized 
tor this end. 

The creator of the new order, then, will be (1) one who 
is not blinded to realities by ease and wealth, but who 
faces hardship and lives dangerously; (2) one who is keenly 
alive to the world’s ills, shares them in his spirit, has the 
divine discontent that in the end makes things better; 
(3) one who is humble and teachable and who combines 
patience and perseverance, as does the man of science 
face to face with hard facts; (4) one who has a passion for 
righteousness in himself and in his relations with others, 
and will never be satisfied till things are right; (5) one who 
is kind-hearted and does not let his theories, however 
good, blind him to human need, who seeks justice through 
love; (6) one who is utterly sincere and gives his life to 
one purpose with complete devotion, turning from the 
temptation to please himself or satisfy his lower nature; 
(7) one who will fling himself into the place of conflict 
determined to find a true solution and to bring people 
together in common service and understanding; (8) one 
who is prepared to pay the price, whatever it may be, 
even in isolation and misunderstanding from foe or friend. 

Compare this summary, point by point, with the 
passage read, and see if, in your opinion, it gives in each 
case the true meaning of the words of Jesus. 

Do these qualities strike you as those which will work 
out into a system like the present one—competition, 
exploitation, militarism and so forth ? If not, how will 
they be expressed in the social order ? 

Second Day. 

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth 
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house 
upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and 


78 THE WAY OF JESUS 

the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for 
it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these 
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto 
a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the 
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and 
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of 
it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, 
the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them 
as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matt. vii. 

24-29.) 

The 4 three chapters that begin with the verses we read 
yesterday and end with those we read to-day, are an 
exposition of the type of individual who can create the 
new social order and the way in which he will set about 
his task in such a world as this. People who will hate, 
despise, judge, injure him are in this picture, all about 
him. His action in face of the difficulties is the action 
of one who already knows the reality of the new social 
order. The young man who, when he quoted these 
teachings as his justification for refusing to fight, was 
told that “ the kingdom of God has not yet come,” 
answered “ It has come for me.” He already had the 
family spirit. The world is full of people who admire the 
teaching and ideals of Jesus and who say, “ The world is 
not yet ready for this,” which is their way of saying it is 
futile or too hard to attempt to live in such a way until 
everyone else is doing the same, or until the world as a 
whole is better. What is the good of waiting till all the 
world is better before we attempt to live like this ? Will 
the world ever get better through such action or in¬ 
action ? How can the world be made ready save by some 
daring to go first ? 

Jesus believed that some would have to go first even if 
they died for it, and He believed that this was the quickest 
and only sure way of making the world better. Many 
said, “ Very good, very good,” and then went away and 
did not do the things they approved. They thought it 
was safer not to be too revolutionary in following Jesus. 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 79 

They remembered all the practical difficulties. They 
supposed they were wise. Jesus said they were like 
fools building their whole life on sand ! Those who 
were so unpractical as to dare to follow Jesus’ way, even 
in a world that was unready, were not fools as the others 
thought, but wise men building on rock. 

How do you account for this difference of judgment ? 
What fact was to Jesus like the rock on which it was safe 
to build the social order—a rock which other people 
simply did not see ? 

Third Day . 

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler 
of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto 
him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: 
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God 
be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, 

I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man 
be bom when he is old ? can he enter the second time into t 
his mother’s womb, and be born ? Jesus answered, Verily, 
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be bom of water and of 
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That 
which is bom of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the 
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hear- 
est the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth: so is every one that is bom of the Spirit. Nico¬ 
demus answered and said unto him, How can these things be ? 
(John iii. 1-9.) 

We closed yesterday with a difficult question. To-day’s 
passage may help us in the answer. Here was a man who 
was accounted wise coming to Jesus with a problem he 
did not like to state, just because his dignity made him 
afraid to seem a fool. Jesus shows him that he simply 
is not seeing the most important thing in life. He had 
to begin all over again as it were, to become like a child, 
ready to learn and eager to know. Then, and then only, 
could he see for himself what was so obvious to Jesus—- 


8 o 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

that God was indeed a loving Father, that he was meant 
to act as His son, that this was life to know God and to 
become son-like. 

This experience which Jesus called being born again 
was, in His view, the very beginning of the revolution 
for which the world waited. In men would be created 
a new disposition like a child’s. The type of person we 
saw to be needed for this great work of social re-creation 
can be produced by a divine reaction within each person¬ 
ality. We cannot understand the social message of Jesus 
unless we begin where He began. We cannot build a 
new social order out of ideas and ideals however good, 
nor by altering conditions until they are nothing short of 
perfect. It is “ living stones ” that are needed. 

It is this which brings men into the family and makes 
them actually seek the good of the family before all else. 
It is this which gives them the secret of a freedom that 
is not a danger to others, of a justice that is not harsh and 
abstract and can always forgive, of an ambition that leads 
us earnestly to seek for the lowest place of service and 
makes us indifferent to wealth and honour. 

The point to be perfectly clear about is this—the end 
is a family. The way to get a family must be by making 
sons and daughters. God is the Father. Therefore we 
must be sons of His. The relation of means to end is 
perfectly simple—a child can see it—but the wise still 
ask, “ How can these things be ? ” 

Fourth Day . 

And^esws entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, 
there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among 
the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought tc see Jesus 
who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little 
of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore 
tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus 
came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto 
him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must 
abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 81 

received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured 
saying, that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, 
the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken any 
thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 
And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this 
house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son 
of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 
xix. i-io.) 

“ Yes, the way is very simple, but people will not take 
it,” is the remark some may make after our study yester¬ 
day. In this story we can see how Jesus tried it out on 
an unlikely person. There were two ways by which the 
Jews were hoping to change the evil systems of bondage 
to Rome and the consequent tax-system. One was 
political, the way of compromise, trying to use influence 
to get things changed from above. The other way was 
revolutionary, by violence seeking to throw off the tyranny 
and kill those who did wrong. Both parties despised and 
hated those men who took the Roman pay for exacting 
the taxes. They would have nothing to do with them 
and so had no influence upon them. They said in their 
hearts, “ These men are hopeless.” 

Not so Jesus. He refused these two methods only in 
order to use a still better one. He went to the house of 
the tax-gatherer. He showed him that He believed in 
his better self and called him a “ son of Abraham.” 
His trust in this “ hopeless ” man was justified. When 
Jesus left him a new day began. Very likely he soon 
found he would have to leave his work, as Matthew did. 
But, at any rate, he began by trying to do the work in an 
entirely different way. 

Here are men to-day caught up in an evil system. Some 
seek to change the system by laws, others by bombs. 
There is a third way—to believe in the divine possibili¬ 
ties even of those who are working it—to go to them in 
sympathy and hope—to help them to be true to their 
higher instinct—and so first to introduce even into this 


\ 

82 THE WAY OF JESUS 

system a different spirit, and so finally to cause the system 
itself to fall to pieces because there are not enough people 
left who are willing to work it. This was the method of 
Jesus in the case of Zacchaeus. What are the advantages 
and disadvantages of this plan ? (Cj. The Galilean , by 
N. Micklem, chapter on “ The Great Offensive.”) 

Fifth Day . 

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things 
contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also 
did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, 
having received authority from the chief priests; and when they 
were put to death, I gave my voice against them . And I pun¬ 
ished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blas¬ 
pheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted 
them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damas¬ 
cus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at 
midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above 
the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them 
which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the 
earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the 
Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It 
is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who 
art thou, Lord ? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou perse¬ 
cutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared 
unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness 
both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things 
in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the 
people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 
to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and 
from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive for¬ 
giveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified 
by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was 
not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but shewed first 
unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all 
the coasts of Judasa, and then to the Gentiles, that they should 
repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. 
(Acts xxvi. 9-20.) 

These are the words of a man who came under the 
influence of Jesus after His death. Paul is here making 
his defence before King Agrippa, and he tells briefly the 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 83 

story of the change. He was one who had been “ work¬ 
ing an evil system.” He had imprisoned many who were 
doing what they believed to be their duty, and had voted 
for their death. Then something happened to him. The 
appeal of Jesus came to him in a direct way. He found 
not only that he could no longer work the evil system, 
but that he must devote his entire life to building up the 
new social order. All his training, association, prejudices 
were ranged against his taking such a step. It cost him 
his position; it lost him his friends; it left him alone and 
misunderstood even by those with whom he now wished 
to join himself. Is it any wonder, when such a change 
had taken place in him, that he wrote afterwards to Rome, 

“ I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of 
God”? (Rom. i. 16.) The power was actually greater 
than that of Rome—greater than all the influences that 
tend to keep a man in the habits created through years 
of education and confirmed in an active life. His story 
is told again by himself in Philippians iii. 1-8, where he <. 
says he “ suffered the loss of all things.” 

Can we understand such a transformation ? Is it not 
like being born again ? Jesus believed men could be 
re-created like this, and therefore He thought His plan 
for the social order was not only good but practicable. 
If we say it is impracticable, may it not be because we 
do not share this conviction ? Those who do share the 
conviction are those who have the experience of God in 
their own lives, who “ have not been disobedient to the 
heavenly vision.” It would be absurd to expect that 
the conviction would be shared by those who have never 
known the actual fact on which it is based. Have we 
known this fact ? Do we wish to do so ? 

Sixth Day . 

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every 
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every 
branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth 


84 THE WA Y OF JESUS 

more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have 
spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch 
cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more 
can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: 
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide 
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men 
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father 
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye 
in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in 
my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and 
abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that 
my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have 
loved you. (John xv. 1-12.) 

A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one 
another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By 
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
one to another. (John xiii. 34, 35.) 

It was not only one great experience, such as Paul had, 
by which Jesus believed men could become convinced 
of the practicability of the Kingdom of God and there¬ 
fore themselves creators of it. What they needed was a 
continuous inflow of power, like the sap which keeps 
rising up in the vine, filling the leaves and causing the 
buds to open and the fruit to develop. This is the result 
of an organic connection. There is one life in root, 
trunk, branch, leaf, flower, fruit. Because Jesus believed 
that this life was actually present in some men and might 
be present in all, He was tremendously hopeful and dared 
to preach “ the kingdom of God is at hand.” 

What is this life ? How can men know it ? The new 
commandment which fulfils all the law is Love. God 
is love. It is by means of loving acts and words that men 
know God and experience His life. As we love, the life 
of God comes into us. “ He that continues to love 
continues in union with God and God continues in union 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 85 

with him ” (1 John iv. 16). This is the idea that Jesus 
passed on to His disciples in the last hours He was with 
them. Love is not only the foundation of the new 
social order. It is the life-blood of a new social organism. 
The idea of Jesus for human society needs this life-blood 
if it is ever to live. It is through men and women that 
the life-blood must flow: there can be no other way. 

Creative love in action, through the individual—this 
is the amazingly simple message of Jesus as to the method 
of realizing the world of His dreams. Does it seem an 
impossible plan—if God is indeed love, and if we are so 
made that we too can love ? 

Seventh Day . 

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypoc¬ 
risies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, 
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 
if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom 
coming, as unte a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but 
chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built 
up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also 
it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief 
comer stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall 
not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is 
precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which 
the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the comer, 
and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them 
which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also 
they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should 
shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness 
into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, 
but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy 
but now have obtained mercy. (1 Pet. ii. 1-10.) 

It is the very simplicity of this way that so often makes 
people afraid to take it or unwilling to believe in it. In 
this passage we have first the contrast between the old 
way of life and the new, between the methods of a wrong 
social system and those of the new. These “ new-born 


86 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

babes ” are sure to be imposed upon, and to suffer. 
People will take advantage of them, and just because of 
such results many will stumble at the way of the Cross. 

How many builders of what they are pleased to call a 
new social order reject this stone ! They are determined 
to try what seems like a short cut—a way that will not 
entail ridicule and self-denial and loneliness and patience 
and forgiveness. So they rush forward with their schemes; 
they win applause; they gather a crowd, whether of 
voters or of rebels; they announce their gospel and 
lead forth their sheep to the slaughter, to disappointment 
and finally to cynical disbelief in any better world. This 
has been done over and over again. 

Those who try the way of Jesus will certainly have 
hardship, but many who have suffered most will tell you 
they are not disillusioned—they still have hope, because 
they have a continuing source of hope. Within the old 
order they have already the promise of the new. They 
are making, as it were, islands in the ocean of darkness 
and despair. They believe that these islands contain 
the promise and assurance of the continent that is yet 
to be. This is what Jesus has actually done for many 
people; and this is why in the ranks of those who have 
really counted in freeing the slave, in raising womanhood, 
in liberating children, in healing the sick, a foremost 
place is held by the followers of Jesus. 

Let us ask ourselves very seriously whether, if we 
should see this to be the way of social progress, we are 
prepared to take it. 

GENERAL NOTES 

This week’s work carries us to the heart of the con¬ 
structive part of the programme of Jesus. We shall 
have to see next week in greater detail how it works out 
in relation to the wider activities of men. But it is clear 
that Jesus did not launch a programme on the world 
without giving careful thought to the way in which it 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 87 

was to be realized. We may agree or disagree with the 
programme; we may accept the method or reject it. 
But we can scarcely fail to see that the means do fit the 
end, and that if we have a programme like this before us 
we cannot expect to see it carried into effect by anything 
less than a revolution which begins with the individual. 

In an earlier study we saw that Jesus did not make the 
mistake of forgetting the forces of evil in the world. They 
must be taken into account, and they must be challenged 
and overcome in the only place where this can possibly 
be done—in men’s hearts. Jesus offered Himself as the 
Saviour of the world. He said “ Come unto me.” His 
own personality was flung into the battle with sin. He 
faced it in pure love. He chose and always used the 
weapon of patient endurance of wrong, forgiving His 
murderers almost with His last breath. In this great act 
we are told that He “ bore the sin of the world,” and so, 
as He put it “ overcame the world.” Many people have 
professed a faith in the saving power of Christ, who have 
failed to see that His way must be ours also if we would 
join in His work of saving the world. He does not call 
us simply to a passive faith. He calls us to active partner¬ 
ship with Himself. It is in this partnership that we can, 
He assures us, find the fullest development of our own 
personality and the largest scope for all our powers. To 
men who will be partners with Him He offers a never- 
failing source of power for the otherwise impossible tasks. 
He calls this His own Spirit, or the Spirit of Truth, or the 
Father dwelling in them, and various other things. This 
power comes through the connection of the individual 
with the central source of power in the universe. All 
men can be thus connected. Love is the connection. 

This is a very simple statement of what Jesus put before 
men. He believed something might happen in any man 
that would make him a creator of the new world. He 
saw every man as a possible partner. Even Zacchaeus the 
money-grubbing tax-collector, or Paul the bitter opponent, 


88 THE WAY OF JESUS 

could be transformed into a creative personality through 
love. They would thus become the channels of love. 

It is impossible to say that Jesus was never disappointed. 
We have seen something of His disappointment over Judas. 
But He went on hoping—because He saw clearly that there 
was no other way of making a new world and because 
behind all the outward appearances He saw, as the central 
fact in the universe, that God is love. 

The group should consider whether Jesus made a huge 
mistake in His judgment of what the universe is, in His 
estimate of men or in His hope for the future. We should 
also face the problem of how far He was right in thinking 
that the revolution must begin in the individual. It will 
be worth while to try to reconstruct the type of the crea¬ 
tive personality as Jesus saw him, and ask ourselves if we 
know any such, and if there is anything in this idea of 
manhood which appeals to us. Would it be true to say 
that if the world were peopled with such persons wars 
would cease ? Would it be true to say that a much larger 
number of such persons in the world would greatly change 
the evils of the present industrial system and perhaps 
even lead to its substitution by a better one ? In that case, 
how do you think such substitution would be effected ? 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What type of personality is needed to create a world 
family ? A brief interchange of ideas, where each gave 
his answer, would be helpful. 

2. Is the world ready for such persons ? If not, how 
can it ever be made ready ? Must we wait to act until we 
are assured of adequate support ? 

3. What can the moral pioneers expect ? This can 
be shown by historical instances. 

4. Is there any power which can produce the kind of 
person needed for creating this family ? And if so, what 
is it ? In what sense do we actually believe in this power ? 

5. Why is the Cross a stumbling-block ? 


EIGHTH WEEK 

CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 
(6) The Group 

First Day. 

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, 
wherewith shall it be salted ? It is thenceforth good for nothing 
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye 
are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be 
hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel 
but on a candlestick: and it giveth light unto all that are in 
the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may 
see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in 
heaven. (Matt. v. 13-16.) 

Having clearly seen the type of individual needed to 
create the new social order, we can proceed to consider 
how such individuals, by acting together, can carry out 
this creative service. Men cannot be considered merely 
as separate individuals, and this is especially true when 
we are considering their influence on society. It is in 
association with others that such persons can become the 
most effective agents of a true reconstruction. 

It is clear that Jesus expected the group of His followers 
to act unitedly as a company of friends. They were to 
be like a city set on a hill. The light was to shine forth 
showing the world what a fine thing it would be if all 
would accept and follow it. The Church, in essence, 
was intended to be the body that showed in its own 
fellowship the nature of the new social order. Paul tells 
his friends in the Roman colony of Philippi that they 
were to be “a colony of heaven.” As Rome sent her 

citizens to live in a non-Roman city and show what Rome 

89 


90 THE WAY OF JESUS 

stood for, so God sent his sons to live in a world not yet 
like a family and show what a family would be like. The 
early Church, as we shall see, had this idea. Of the 
Church of to-day it has been said, “ It has not persuaded 
men of the reality of the Kingship of God, save as some 
far distant ideal. The saving of society by a sort of 
Christian Fabianism and adulteration of the leaven must, 
one thinks, be regarded as a failure. Would it not be 
near the truth to change the figure a little and say that the 
Church has inoculated the w )rld with a mild form of 
Christianity and made it proof against the real thing ?” 

We cannot defend against all criticism the Church as 
it is, although there is very much which it has accom¬ 
plished. This week we are to study the idea of the 
Church as it ought to be, and we shall perhaps see what 
an immense power it might wield. 

Second Day. 

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them 
power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And 
he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the 
sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, 
neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither 
have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, 
there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not re¬ 
ceive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust 
from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed 
and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing 
everywhere (Luke ix. 1-6.) 

The first company of the friends of Jesus were joined 
together not by any uniformity of doctrine or by member¬ 
ship in one organization. They were one in the devotion 
to their Master and their readiness to suffer all in His 
service. It was unity in aim rather than in opinion. It 
was expressed in action rather than in words. It was 
this creative activity to which they were directly stimu¬ 
lated by living with Jesus. 

Suppose a group of persons of the type we have dis- 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 91 

covered to be needed were bound together in this way, 
what might they not do ? The very fact that they were 
facing immense difficulties would serve to bind them 
together the more closely. There is a very intimate kind 
of unity which comes when we are engaged in a common 
struggle against odds. These first friends of Jesus went 
about in poverty, they w T ere dependent upon the kindness 
of those who would receive them, they had a great message 
of hope for men and for society, they gave immediate 
relief to suffering where they could. Were they not, 
in a real sense, creators of a new society ? 

What do you think such a group of persons could do 
to-day ? Do you think they would have any power in 
respect to a system so strongly entrenched as capitalism ? 
Are the circumstances of our modern life so different as 
to render any comparison valueless ? What would be 
the moral force of a body of persons who definitely 
refused to possess or use economic force, and political 
force and military force ? Recent examples of the force 
of ideas might be quoted, as, for example, the cases of 
Karl Marx, Tolstoy, Ghandi, each one of whom has had 
what would be regarded as “ influence ” in starting a 
great movement of thought. Is there a call to-day for new 
ideas in the realm of creative love ? If so, is it not clear 
that a group working together with a common aim might 
be a very important factor ? 

Third Day. 

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart 
and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things 
which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrec¬ 
tion of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as 
were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the 
prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the 
apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man 
according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was 
suraamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted. The son of 


92 THE WAY OF JESUS 

consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having 
land, sold it , and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ 
feet. (Acts iv. 32-37.) 

It has already been hinted that the group has a duty in 
making real the ideal for which it stands. There are many 
complex problems in regard to which the individual is 
powerless to act alone. A group who have the family 
spirit can begin to live like a family. This is what the 
first group of Christians did. 

They faced the problems of the inequalities of wealth 
within their own membership. They did not content 
themselves simply with preaching equality. They did 
not try to introduce laws in order to create a communist 
State. They did not even work out any formal consti¬ 
tution for such a society themselves. They began by a 
recognition that they were members one of another, that 
none had any absolute right to his possessions, and they 
worked this out by a simple method of sharing as if they 
had actually been members of one family. 

It is easy to say that this method was not very success¬ 
ful. It was more successful than some have thought and 
yet, no doubt, mistakes were made. But the important 
point is, that the group had discovered the distinctive 
method of action whereby the new social order may be 
established. Those in whom the spirit is already present 
are to come together to express that spirit in concrete 
form. This was the method which the early Church saw 
more or less clearly, which it followed for several genera¬ 
tions, which was abandoned when Church and State joined 
together, and which has scarcely ever been seriously tried 
since. Has the time come when it might be tried again 
with advantage ? 

Fourth Bay . 

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain 
prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called 
Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 93 

brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they minis¬ 
tered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate 
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their 
hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth 
by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence 
they sailed to Cyprus. (Acts xiii. 1-4.) 

This account of the action of the early Church is very 
suggestive. Evidently these people in Antioch were in 
the habit of meeting together in prayer. Clearly they 
expected to know God’s will. On a certain occasion they 
have a clear conviction that a certain course of action is 
needed. They do not hesitate to take it although, no 
doubt, the two people concerned must have seemed to 
be indispensable. What does this show us as to the 
method of action in the Christian revolution ? 

We are in a very complex order of society. How are 
we to discover what the Father’s will for His family may 
be ? We have seen that Jesus believed there was such 
a will and purpose, and that unity and progress with peace 
could only be discovered along the line of that will. Here 
is a clue to the very puzzling question, How can we tell 
the right way ? 

A group that will meet in fellowship, seeking the truth, 
determined to follow it, with open minds to learn it, may 
become acutely conscious of this divine leadership. Many 
cases of this are known to the writer. Do you know any 
such ? 

If there is a divine purpose in society, is it not reasonable 
to suppose that there will be some way whereby society 
may discover it ? The way of all others would seem to 
be group thought and prayer, by people prepared to 
act, of one mind and soul, although with very different 
opinions and personalities. 

In the case we have before us a great movement started 
from this beginning, and before long these men were 
making a revolution, turning the world upside down 
(Acts xvii. 6). May not revolution of the right kind be 


94 THE WAY OF JESUS 

waiting for groups like this who will wait on God ? 
(See The Way Forward for the Churchy also The New 
State , by M. P. Follett.) 

Fifth Day . 

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, 
saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom 
to Israel ? And he said unto them. It is not for you to know 
the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own 
power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter¬ 
most part of the earth. (Acts i. 6-8.) 

The activities of such a group should be like spreading 
infection. Wherever they are they should be convincing 
people of the desirability and of the practicability of the 
new social order. 

The disciples asked their Master if He was then to 
restore the Kingdom to Israel— i.e ., the freedom of their 
little State. His eyes were on a bigger thing—a world 
family. He told them to wait in fellowship and prayer, 
that they would become conscious of a new power, and 
then they would become witnesses (i.e., a living demon¬ 
stration) of the actual reality of this Kingdom, not in one 
place only, but beginning from that centre in widening 
circles all through the world. The rest of the Book 
of Acts shows how that actually happened. There is 
scarcely any part of the earth now where there are not 
some people joined together to try, by creative love in 
action, to show what the new social order should be like. 
You may see it in hospitals, in schools, in families, in 
groups working together at all kinds of problems. Such 
groups are the real Church. They are creating the new 
order—silently often, “ coming not with observation,” 
but by slow, unresting processes as the coral island arises 
through the action of numberless little animals each 
adding itself to the whole. 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 95 

Such processes seem slow. But may that not be 
because of the imperfection of men or their lack of con¬ 
fident hope ? Every person who has seen the truth that 
Jesus saw is called to be a propagandist of the new social 
order, bringing others to see what he sees, by persuasive 
love and daring example. The group that is really 
tackling a big social problem is sure to be a centre of 
infection. Do you think activities of this kind are needed 
in the world to-day ? How can they be stimulated ? 
Will they actually avail towards the changing of the 
system, so far as it should be changed ? 

Sixth Bay . 

And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. 
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made 
silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the crafts¬ 
men; whom he called together with the workmen of like 
occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have 
our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, 
but almost throughout Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned 
away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made 
with hands: so that not only this our craft is in danger to be 
set at nought: but also that the temple of the great goddess 
Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be 
destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And 
when they heard these sayings , they were full of wrath, and cried 
out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole 
city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and 
Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, 
they rushed with one accord into the theatre. (Acts xix. 23-29.) 

The creative activity of a group of loving persons is sure 
to provoke opposition as well as to inspire emulation. 
Here is an instance in which a lucrative trade is threat¬ 
ened, and the representatives of the industry combine 
to stir up the people to active opposition. Suppose a 
group such as this we have been thinking of were to come 
out with a fearless denunciation of some particular 
industry where conditions were bad—sweated labour, 
overcrowding, child-labour, etc.—what would be the 


96 THE WAY OF JESUS 

result to-day ? Trade is threatened. Many can be per¬ 
suaded to believe that their own interests are identical 
with those of the capitalist group, let us say, who control 
an industry. To speak out fearlessly against social 
wrong must be one method of activity for the group. How 
easy to shrink from doing this for fear we lose our chance 
of doing anything at all ! 

Take the case of a church the support of which depends 
largely on some person engaged in a business where 
conditions are seriously wrong. If the minister speaks 
fearlessly, he may lose his job and so lose the power to 
make himself heard at all. Should he for this reason 
keep quiet ? The group that is trying to make an experi¬ 
ment may be prevented from doing so, but can it there¬ 
fore keep silence ? What is the effect upon the public 
conscience of seeing a person or group of persons silenced 
by authority because they are true to conscience ? May 
it not be that more is done to break down the system by 
the reaction against it in men’s minds, when they see how 
cruel it can be, than even by the continuous talk of those 
who stand outside it and condemn it ? The group’s 
biggest contribution to the creation of the new social 
order might then be to die as a group. 

Seventh Bay . 

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, 
to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And 
he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. And, behold, 
one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing 
shall I do, that I may have eternal life ? And he said unto him, 
Why callest thou me good ? there is none good but one, that 
is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the command¬ 
ments. (Matt. xix. 14-17.) 

The friends of Jesus seemed to be unwilling to accept 
the most ordinary traditions. This caused offence. 
Jesus shows that they were out for something so different 
from the old order that it could only find expression in 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 97 

an entirely new one. To graft the new on to the old 
would do harm. A spirit came into the world with Jesus 
that can never express itself along the lines of a selfish 
and coercive order of society. When it tries to do so, 
either it becomes so modified as to cease to be distinct¬ 
ively Christian, it loses its message and significance, or 
else it actually bursts the old order and all ends in con¬ 
fusion. 

For this reason the path of plain common sense is to 
seek always for a new embodiment of the new spirit, on 
the part of those who have that spirit. Is there not a 
danger of one or both of these things happening in our 
present social order ? On the one hand, the Christian 
spirit, trying to work out in methods of organization and 
in a form of society which can never properly embody 
it, is losing its freshness and vitality and seems to have 
little creative power. On the other hand, the restless 
progressive spirit, working widely and affecting all types 
of persons, tends often to express itself more in mere 
destruction than in constructive effort. It is far easier 
to arouse enthusiasm than to guide it wisely. Ghandi 
called out a movement in India, beginning with non- 
resistance, but has been unable to control it, and so it has 
in places become violent and destructive. Do not the 
two dangers referred to arise because we have not clearly 
seen what is the method of creative love in action ? How 
may they be avoided as we seek to give the spirit of pro¬ 
gress and freedom full play in a world where there are 
many forces of reaction and oppression ? 

GENERAL NOTES 

The problem for this week may be restated in the 
following words, “ Given such personalities as we have 
seen to be needed, how can they so act together as to 
destroy the present social order and build a better one ?” 
The group should seek an answer to the question, while 


98 THE WAY OF JESUS 

keeping close to our central thought that we are trying 
to discover the answer of Jesus to it, and that we have 
seen His ideal to be a world family. Let us remember 
again that in the last resort any system depends upon 
persons. No social order that is contrary to fundamental 
principles could be established or maintained if those 
principles were being carried out in the lives of all persons. 
This thought delivers us from the sense of being mere 
slaves of a system, from the thought of impotence in face 
of it, and from the despair of changing it which is far to© 
common among otherwise right-thinking people. It is 
quite true that the system gives undue power to a few 
to maintain it against the will of the many, and that often 
the good instincts of people are rendered, to a large extent, 
inoperative by the fact that there is so little possibility of 
expressing them within a system which seems to pervade 
everything. 

The problem presses very acutely in the Far East, 
which is steadily drifting towards the worst evils of 
Western industrialism without the factors which have 
checked those evils in the West being in anything like 
a strong enough position to do the same there. Those 
factors are mainly a progressively enlightened public 
conscience, a strong labour movement determined to 
protect the worker against exploitation, an effective 
central Government able to enforce laws that restrict 
such exploitation. 

We may well consider the methods of action that can 
be employed by a group determined to act in the way of 
creative love. Some of these may be summed up in the 
following brief points: 

1. To study the actual facts and to seek together the 
way in which to apply the principles of love to these facts. 
Fellowship in seeking the will of God, humbly, with a 
determined effort to see truth. 

2. To proclaim truth either by way of showing up the 
evils of the system or of particular examples of it, or still 


CREATIVE LOVE IN ACTION 99 

more by expressing in definite proposals the construct¬ 
ive way of dealing with social evils and creating a better 
social order. 

3. To make daring experiments which will show in 
corporate action what the new spirit means. For example, 
to carry on a particular business in a way consistent with 
the principles we have studied. There may be failures 
in such experiments, but there is one thing worse than 
failure— never to try. 

4. To make direct appeal to those who seem to be 
caught in the system, as Jesus did to Zacchaeus. Often 
this may be done effectively by a group. Let us remember 
that merely to blame, especially in public, antagonizes 
people. Let us first try to call out the best in them and 
win them to our side. 

5. To extend the group, always calling more people 
into fellowship in the common aim. If this method be 
carried on fearlessly, it means that we shall be steadily 
diminishing the numbers who are willing to work the 
system and so causing it some day to fall to pieces. 

6. To accept such responsibilities as may be given 
as far as this can be done consistently with our prin¬ 
ciples and without making any fundamental compromise. 
(See The Christian Revolution , H. T. Hodgkin, chapter 
“ Changing the System.”) 

These are some suggestions. The group should try 
to add others and to think out what these mean as applied 
to their own action, and to the problem of their own city, 
college, country, etc. It is possible that out of this study 
some groups may be formed that will wish to do some of 
these things. If so, let us remember what we studied 
last week as to the type of person needed for this creative 
work. Are we prepared to enter upon such a task, not 
as a mere pastime, but with all the seriousness of a 
great campaign—and in humility, recognizing that God 
alone can give the strength to carry it through ? This 
would seem to be the kind of question Jesus put up to His 


100 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

disciples. We have need to pray together if we are to 
answer such questions. A group that can pray together 
with reality and purpose, and that gains strength and 
insight in so doing, is certainly on the way to becoming 
a real factor in building the new social order. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What can we learn from the story of the early 
Church as to the way in which a group can act creatively 
in regard to the social order ? 

2. What is divine guidance ? Do we know it ? Can 
we as a group take any steps to know it in our corporate 
life in regard to the problems we face together ? 

3. Can we discover any general principles that may 
guide the action of such a group, and how far do the 
methods suggested in the general notes commend them¬ 
selves to us as ways by which a world family can actually 
be formed ? Are any of them objectionable ? Are any 
others we can think of to be added ? 

4. Has this particular group any piece of service in 
this college or city which could be better done by its 
holding together and thinking out some practical prob¬ 
lems ? If so, what would be the basis of our united work ? 

5. Can we hope for the creation of a new social order 
along the lines of this week’s study ? Can we hope in 
this way to prevent class-war and other similar evils ? 


NINTH WEEK 

THE NEXT STEP 


First Day . 

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 
and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separ¬ 
ate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, 
but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them 
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 
for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, 
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, 
and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, 
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee ? 
or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a stranger, 
and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw 
we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? And the King 
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch 
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
ye have done it unto me. (Matt. xxv. 31-40.) 

The principles and theories we have been discussing 
are of no use to us or to society, unless they are worked 
out in human lives. This week we must try to face some 
of the concrete situations in which the problem of appli¬ 
cation arises in our individual or in the common life. It 
is impossible, in a course of studies for general use, to do 
more than suggest such questions, for each person’s 
problem is different from that of each other. Perhaps 
we may get a little bit farther on what may be called 
“ the technique of loving ” in our common search for 
truth. 


IOI 


102 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

While the life of Jesus is the expression of certain 
great truths about God and man, He was always alert to 
appreciate and meet the need of every person whom He 
met. There are those who are so concerned with the 
philosophy of life that they fail, in the simplest ways, 
in the art of living. Not so Jesus. The meaning of 
to-day’s passage is, in part, this: Bring down your 
theories to the test of ordinary personal relationships; 
express them in terms of the people you meet every day, 
even the least important, or you have failed in the crucial 
test. 

Could we not use the opportunity of this study to 
examine freshly our relationships with people we meet 
in everyday life—fellow-students, shopkeepers, bus- 
conductors, servants, teachers, any who serve us, or whom 
we serve ? Are our contacts with them an expression 
of the law of love ? Do we think highly of them, treat 
them as we should wish to be treated if we could change 
places ? Do we consider their faults, weaknesses, rude¬ 
ness, inattention to our interests as a sufficient reason for 
returning the same coin to them ? Or have we actually 
so grasped the spirit of Christ that we are glad of every 
opportunity to return gold for the copper we receive, 
kindness for unkind criticism, gentle words for off-hand 
or discourteous ones and so forth ? 

Let us take one by one those whom we constantly meet. 
Let us be quite honest. Is our conduct towards them 
justified in the light of what we have been learning ? 
How may we improve it so that if all others so acted we 
should indeed be living in a “ new world ” ? If the 
method of progress towards this end is the method we 
have discussed in these pages, it is up to us to begin 
right here—otherwise we are either hypocrites or cowards, 
or both. There is no other place where we can begin 
to create a new social order if we fail here. 


THE NEXT STEP 


103 


Second Day . 

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with 
wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents 
went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And 
when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after 
the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, 
as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; 
and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing 
him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and 
they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And 
when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, 
seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they 
found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both 
hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard 
him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And 
when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said 
unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us ? behold thy 
father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto 
them, How is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not that I must be 
about my Father’s business ? And they understood not the 
saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with 
them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but 
his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus 
increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and 
man. (Luke ii. 40-52.) 

The home is the place where each child first learns 
the lessons of life. Here we should discover the meaning 
of love in action. What are the qualities that make a 
family contented and serviceable to the community ? 
Can our religion stand the test of the home circle, the 
small annoyances, the differences of taste and tempera¬ 
ment, etc. ? There are many who have great visions 
of world service and who fail sadly at home. In fact, 
the subconscious motive to go out as a missionary may 
be the failure to fit in at home. Are we seeking some 
big thing to do before we have learned the lesson of 
trying out love in the place where we are ? Is our ambi¬ 
tion to reach a wider sphere simply a cloak to prevent us 
from seeing that we have broken down in the smaller 
one ? 


io 4 THE WAY OF JESUS 

Jesus at twelve is filled with this passion to serve men 
greatly. Already He sees that He must be about His 
Father’s business. The longing to go forth and give the 
word must have burned in His soul with a fierce intensity 
on many a day when He toiled in the carpenter’s shop 
and when He lived in a narrow home circle “ subject to 
His parents.” 

Does not this, which is the largest part of the life of 
Jesus, carry a very significant message to us in this day 
of crises and opportunities ? The world cannot be won 
by rush methods. The call to go forth comes very 
insistently from many quarters. Those who respond 
should be those who have learned the secret of applying 
love in the family circle, and who can really say, “ We 
have tried this method and know that it works in our 
own home life.” 

The problem of exacting obedience in the home might 
engage our thought. Is it right to demand obedience 
from children even if they do not see the rightness of 
a course ? What methods are justifiable in enforcing 
obedience in little children, in the adolescent period, 
etc. ? Do we deny children something of real value if 
we do not teach them to obey implicitly and promptly— 
remembering that our Father’s will may not always be 
easy to understand, even though it is right and proper for 
us to obey it ? (See The Christian Revolution , chap, vi., 
“ The Home and The Practice of Christianity .) 

One of the chief ways in which love expresses itself 
is in an imagination touched by sympathy. In the home 
we have opportunity to use imagination in reference to 
all concerned—parents, brothers, sisters, servants it may 
be. When we are annoyed and perplexed by their 
behaviour do we seriously try to put ourselves in their 
position ? In speaking a harsh or cutting word, in giving 
a peremptory order, in finding fault, in indulging our 
own tastes when others are inconvenienced, do we seek 
to think our way into the mind and spirit of the other 


THE NEXT STEP 


105 

party ? Learning to do this, we become fitted for the 
task of bringing in the Kingdom of God. It is by these 
tests men can see whether the Kingdom has already come 
for us or not. 

Third Day . 

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment 
ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete 
it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou 
the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the 
beam that is in thine own eye ? Or how wilt thou say to thy 
brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, 
a beam is in thine own eye ? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the 
beam out of thine own eye: and then shalt thou see clearly to 
cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Give not that which 
is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, 
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend 
you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; 
knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh 
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh 
it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his 
son ask bread, will he give him a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, 
will he give him a serpent ? If ye then, being evil, know how 
to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall 
your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that 
ask him ? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and 
the prophets. (Matt. vii. 1-12.) 

The family problem is no easy one for many people, 
but after all it is a simple one compared with that which 
faces a man or woman who goes out into the world of 
affairs and tries therein to express the Golden Rule. We 
want to treat others in the right way—but again and again 
we find we are facing “ the system ” in one form or 
another. Men have created in the course of ages a social 
industrial, political international “ order ” in which it 
seems impossible to move freely. Our right instincts 
are checked by such considerations as the following: 
“ It would be useless for one person to take isolated 
action when everyone is doing otherwise.” “To treat 


106 THE WAY OF JESUS 

another in the spirit of Christ means that advantage will 
be taken of us.” “ It is not business to act in such a way.” 
“ My family is dependent upon me, and so to act would 
bring them ruin.” To many people the system seems 
to be simply a cruel, heartless thing which not only crushes 
the bodies of men, but perverts their minds and poisons 
their souls. To live a life of constant compromise; to 
conduct a business which depends upon certain conven¬ 
tional dishonesties; to be, in political life, forever con¬ 
cerned with what is expedient rather than with what is 
right; to find professional etiquette barring the way to 
simple obedience to moral instincts—to live in any of these 
ways is to feel a perpetual burden on one’s spirit unless 
one frankly gives up the struggle to do the obviously 
Christian thing. 

Such considerations, and the knowledge of affairs 
that leads to them, give a sense of understanding sympathy 
towards all who are caught in the system. We cannot 
set ourselves up as mere critics. If we are not our¬ 
selves in such a plight we soon may be. Perhaps our 
own sin of condemnation of others, of superior right¬ 
eousness, or of inward acceptance of some other kind of 
compromise is, after all, the beam as compared with the 
mote in the eyes of some who inwardly struggle against 
almost impossible odds, while outwardly they seem 
tamely to acquiesce. 

In this spirit let us consider what we can actually do 
to meet the situation. Are we really bound to acquiesce 
in evil, even to be partners in evil, just because we are in 
an evil world ? Are there many places in life where it is 
not only hard, but actually impossible to be a Christian ? 

There are two different meanings sometimes attached 
to the word “ compromise.” Can we distinguish between 
them and discover whether in both senses compromise is 
a necessary part of life ? In the one sense we find our¬ 
selves unable to reach at once our full ideal and must 
take something less as a stage on the way. In the other 


THE NEXT STEP 107 

sense we actually agree to evil and take part in something 
which, from the nature of the case, is opposed to our 
ideal and cannot really be a stage towards its accomplish¬ 
ment. Is the politician bound to compromise in both 
senses ? What about war, or a business where there is 
sweated labour, or a magistrate administering a law 
that involves sending people to prisons that can only 
confirm them in crime ? It is such problems as these 
that really show where “ the shoe pinches ” ( Cj . 

Compromise , by Morley.) 

Fourth Day . 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad 
is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which 
go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, 
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware 
of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but 
inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by 
their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? 
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt v 
tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth 
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, 
and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know 
them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of 
my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy 
name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done many wonder¬ 
ful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew 
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matt. vii. 13-23.) 

We launched ourselves yesterday upon a tremendous 
problem. Christianity is not simply a theory, a philo¬ 
sophy, a creed to be accepted, or a Church to be joined. 

It is a way of life, and it involves the taking of a certain 
course in all kinds of difficult circumstances. To judge 
the tree by its fruits is a perfectly fair way of judging. 
Yet many people seem to be content with living in a world 
where there is much evil, with the spiritual comfort of 


io8 THE WAY OF JESUS 

a faith that saves their own souls, but making no serious 
effort in business life (let us say) to reach a standard 
higher than that of the circle in which they move. It 
is not by the profession “ Lord, Lord,” but by the 
standard we actually live by that we are to be judged. 

Now to live by this higher standard involves several 
things. In the first place, we must find what it really is. 
This is no simple matter in our complex modem life. 
It requires the very best thinking we can put into it. It 
requires common thought, for we cannot hope to see our 
way in great social issues if we think in isolation. It 
involves reading, for there are many very stubborn 
facts, economic, racial, etc., which we must know unless 
our acts are to be mere sentimentalism, which accom¬ 
plishes nothing. It involves experiment, for there are 
many truths which can never be discovered in the study— 
only in the laboratory. And it involves failure—or at 
least the big possibility of failure—for again and again 
truth has been found by the method of trial and error, 
and a hundred or a thousand mistakes may be needed 
to lead us to the way—that straight and narrow one— 
which leads to true life for the community as well as for 
the individual. 

And in all these efforts of thought, study, experiment, 
we need the childlike spirit, the teachable mind, the 
eagerness to know the will of God. Humility is a grace 
that leads not only to personal holiness, but also to social 
redemption. 

Have we, in these suggestions, some clue as to the 
method by which any one of us can actually become crea¬ 
tors of a better system. The system, after all, is what 
men have made it. Any new system must be the work 
of men. To think of it in abstract terms is likely to lead 
to despair or cynicism. There is a way of challenging it, 
by patient individual and group effort. This way we can 
discover and we can take. That surely was the message 
of Jesus, though He never led people to expect it would 


THE NEXT STEP 


109 

be an easy or a popular way. The end of a system that 
denies human values, that encourages that hardness of 
heart which seems to many to be a virtue, that allows 
unlimited competition however cruel the results, that acts 
on an idea of racial superiority or class-war, that divides 
men in interest and in spirit by frontiers of nation or 
class or status—the end of such a system, however many 
are in it, is destruction. The end of a system built on 
love and goodwill and respect for others, a system that 
is a family rather than a mob, however few there be that 
find it, is eternal life . Is not this the ground of our hope 
in “ this present evil world ” ? 

Fifth Day . 

Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, 
blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind 
and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were 
amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David ? But when the 
Pharisees heard it> they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, 
but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew' 
their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided 
against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house 
divided against itself shall not stand: and if Satan cast out 
Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom 
stand ? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do 
your children cast them out ? therefore they shall be your judges. 
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom 
of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a 
strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the 
strong man ? and then he will spoil his house. (Matt. xii. 22-29.) 

We have seen something of the kind of society that 
Christ thought about, and we have considered some 
aspects of His way of creating it. Nevertheless, again 
and again, in practice the thought comes back to us, Is 
it not actually impossible to avoid, on occasion, taking 
another way ? A young Chinese came back from study¬ 
ing abroad with the highest ideals. He was determined 
to purify the public life. For years he waited, unable to 
get any position without graft. At last he said, “ I will 


no 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

pay my way up as everyone else does, and when I reach 
the top I will carry out my ideals.” He entered the public 
service, and years afterwards retired, a beaten and dis¬ 
illusioned man. High office had come to him, but it 
found him powerless to carry out his ideals and caring 
far less to do it. Is this typical of other experiences in 
business or professional life in other lands ? Is there 
any essential reason why such a plan could not succeed ? 

Let U9 think of some of the actual difficulties we may 
have to face. A man in business awakens to the fact 
that his employees are getting an inadequate wage that is 
driving girls on to the streets to eke out their income. 
He knows that to raise the rate of wages means that his 
goods cannot be put on the market in competition with 
the goods made by others who have not his standards. 
What is he to do? To go out of business throws hun¬ 
dreds into unemployment. A worker finds that his trade- 
union regulation means deliberately doing less than his 
best for his employer. To cut out of the union is to lose 
his job and probably fail to get another. He has a wife 
and family absolutely dependent on the weekly wage. 
A merchant finds that everyone in his business is giving 
secret commissions. To stand out is to lose custom and 
probably bring to complete ruin the business he conducts 
which, in certain ways, is setting a standard distinctly 
above the average and doing a real public service. A 
shopkeeper finds that a certain class of goods is adul¬ 
terated and sold as pure. They cannot be put on the 
market pure at the same price. His customers are not 
actually damaged by the adulteration, and would really 
rather have the goods cheaper, but if the adulteration is 
admitted he will lose their custom. 

Such questions as these are not theoretical. It is in 
just such cases that the problem presses upon tens of 
thousands. We are all dependent upon a system that 
is in many respects a denial of the Christian ideal. 

Wliat Jesus saw so clearly was that you simply cannot, 


Ill 


THE NEXT STEP 

from the nature of things, drive out evil by an alliance 
with evil. If our first aim is a human family, we must 
learn to think out what that means in just such circum¬ 
stances as the above. 

We might take one single problem such as war when 
used in a cause that is mainly right. Does the end in 
this case justify the means ? What is the Christian 
alternative to war ? 

The next step in many cases is apt to seem a pure 
negation. But we have to think our way through the 
denial of the wrong to the way by which we may express 
the right. A very small and simple beginning is often 
indicated. Let us pass the day with this challenge in 
our minds. 

Sixth Day . 

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of 
them: otherwise ye have no regard of your Father which is in 
heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound ' 
a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues 
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I 
say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest 
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 
that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in 
secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, 
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray 
standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, 
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have 
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall 
reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, 
as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for 
their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for 
your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye 
ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father 
which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom 
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us 
this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for¬ 
give our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 


112 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, 
your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not 
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your 
trespasses. (Matt. vi. 1-15.) 

We come back to the question—where can we begin ? 
Every system in history has been compacted of human 
relationships. What may be wrong with us is that we 
have allowed the system to get on top of us and into 
our very thinking. We can also begin in the sphere of 
human relationships, and through improving these sooner 
or later the system must be humanized. 

It is a fatal error to think of persons merely as members 
of classes. To call a man a profiteer, a German, a hand, 
a Bolshevik, a nigger, or whatever it may be, is to classify 
him, or endow him with all the supposed characteristics 
of the class. Clutton Brock, writing in Immortality , 
says, in effect, that Heaven has room enough for the 
Germans, but not room for our ideas of the Germans. 
If we are to begin truly we must declassify the men we 
deal with, take them out of their places in the card-index 
system, and look them in the face as men. This leads to 
many truly revolutionary changes in thought and practice. 
Mere “ welfare work ” introduced to make the machine 
run better is of little avail and is open to the criticism 
that we are simply bolstering up an evil thing. But if 
we can really understand one another, find one another, 
put ourselves in another’s place, there will no longer be 
the great gulf that so often makes negotiation hopeless 
from the outset. When we label men we regard all as 
guilty of the crimes against our own class or group which 
we nurse in our hearts as a justification for resentment. 
Perhaps that so-called crime is the perfectly natural 
reaction of a group that has been fed on lies or half-truths 
or irritated beyond measure by the thoughtless action of 
our “ class.” So by this individualizing method resent¬ 
ment gives place to understanding, and this leads to 
forgiveness. If we do not forgive the individual or the 


THE NEXT STEP 


ii3 

group which seems to be sinning against us, what, accord¬ 
ing to to-day’s passage, will be the result ? Can we afford, 
for our own sakes, to nourish resentment against another 
group ? 

This individualizing process not only removes in us 
a barrier against the creation of a family, it opens our 
eyes to a world of new possibilities. In this heartless 
system other men, women and children besides ourselves 
and our class are caught up and carried whither they 
would not: we are, in fact, fellow-sufferers. Across the 
trenches men looked at one another often enough as 
those who had no personal quarrel, and could indeed 
have been very good friends. But they had to fight 
because they were under orders and each believed he was 
standing for something of value to humanity, or, if he had 
lost that faith, was at least powerless to express himself 
as an individual. We must get across the trenches in 
our social order and try together to work out a better 
system. It cannot be truly done by a group of capitalists 
imposing their idea of a better order or by a revolution 
in which the thinking of the worker alone expresses 
itself. We need to realize we are all victims together of 
something that has grown up we scarce know how, and 
therefore we must join in the effort to substitute something 
better. How may we be effectively joined in this effort ? 

Seventh Day. 

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in 
the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called 
the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time 
ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth 
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having 
no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ 
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the 
blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, 
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; 
having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of com¬ 
mandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of 
twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might 

8 


11 4 THE WAY OF JESUS 

reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain 
the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you 
which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through 
him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now 
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow- 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and 
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone ; in whom all 
the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple 
in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habi¬ 
tation of God through the Spirit. (Eph. ii. 11-22.) 

We have seen that a necessary principle in moving 
toward social reconstruction is that we find fellowship 
with those who are bound up with us in the present 
system and who seem to be on the other side of one of 
the many gulfs that separate men. For example, if the 
Franco-German situation is to be solved it should be by 
the joint efforts of persons of goodwill in those two nations. 
If a better system of industry is to be discovered in, let 
us say, the making of boots, it should be through the 
joint effort of the workers, employers, managers, and 
buyers of boots. 

Let us look for a moment at the barriers which have 
to be removed by patient, imaginative love: 

1. Difference of Wealth .—Is it not possible that many 
people who have inherited or are earning much money 
should voluntarily live much more simply, even sparsely, 
not only in order to use their money for better ends than 
personal comfort, but so as to remove the invisible 
barriers that come through different standards of living ? 

2. Difference in Experience of Life .—Those who 
always have had enough money, and have not been under 
the necessity of working with their hands, have so different 
an experience as to make co-operation with the hand 
workers very hard. Would it not be well if many sons of 
the employing or rentier classes were to take a few years 
in hand work joining a trade union, etc., in order to have 
an actual experience of the life of those with whom they 
must work out a new order ? 


S 


THE NEXT STEP n 5 

3. Difference of Education .—The home influence and 
the school make barriers unconsciously. Should more 
children from middle-class homes go through the Council 
schools (as in America and other countries) ? Are not 
the W.E.A. and the Adult School movement, in this 
respect, making for a better common understanding ? 
Have we any duty in regard to such organizations that 
would be a part of the general duty we are now considering 
of giving ourselves to the creation of a new social order ? 
Are we reading the books on which socialists, trade 
unionists, and others are being nourished ? Do we read 
labour papers ? 

4. Difference of Language .—The very words we use 
have different contents. It is quite impossible for people 
to co-operate until they have learned one another’s lan¬ 
guage. Those who have had greater educational advan¬ 
tages should be the first to move in this matter. By 
attending meetings and by making friends across the 
barriers, we are all the time breaking down a provincialism 
that is often so deep that we are quite oblivious to it. 

Paul saw that the work of Christ was to break all such 
barriers down. Those who have a living experience of 
Him find it wonderfully possible to get to one another 
across the barriers. The creation of “ one new man ” 
in Christ is a living experience for many to-day. This 
way of reconciliation leads to reconstruction. There is 
a pathway here open for all to tread. What actual steps 
have we taken along it ? 

GENERAL NOTES 

This week we have tried to face our problem from a 
slightly different angle. Admitting that the finest ideal 
for human society is the family one which Jesus Christ 
set before men, and admitting that the way to reach this 
ideal is through individual and group initiative rather 
than by seeking to press others by violence or by majorities, 


n6 THE WAY OF JESUS 

we have yet the great task of discovery before us. At 
what point can such persons or groups really touch the 
problem ? The social and industrial system is strongly 
entrenched. There are huge vested interests with great 
financial and political power. There are State systems 
upheld by authority, by force and by custom. There 
are habits of mind which are peculiarly difficult to change, 
prejudices, hatreds, affections, inhibitions. We have to 
deal, above all, with inertia, which is one of our great social 
sins, and which is often the outward expression of a selfish¬ 
ness which recognizes that the individual concerned has 
much to lose and little to gain by any change. 

“ As for me,” wrote William James, “ my bed is made: 
I am against bigness and greatness in all their forms, and 
with the invisible molecular forces that work from indi¬ 
vidual to individual, stealing in through the crannies of 
the world like so many soft rootlets, or like the capillary 
oozing of water, and yet rending the hardest monuments 
of man’s pride, if you give them time. The bigger the 
unit you deal with, the hollower, the more brutal, the 
more mendacious is the life displayed. So I am against 
all the big organizations as such, national ones first and 
foremost; against all big successes and big results; and in 
favour of the eternal forces of truth which always work 
in the individual and immediately unsuccessful way— 
under-dogs always, till history comes, after they are long 
dead, and puts them on top.” 

Is this a true conception of the real way in which the 
progress towards a true end for society actually works ? 
If so, do we not need to pay far more attention than is 
usually done to the personal and unobserved forces, and 
do we not need to reconsider our own attitude and where 
we can put in our life to the best advantage if we are to 
count in the great task ? 

Taking this general position, at what point or points 
can we actually get to work on the job ? Perhaps the best 
thing the group could do would be to concentrate on one 


THE NEXT STEP n 7 

problem which all feel to be a vital one. It may be that 
there are a number of such problems or that each indi¬ 
vidual has been caused to think of a different one. By 
perfectly frank discussion of these questions in an atmo¬ 
sphere of common search for the will of God and readiness 
to do it, very definite progress can be made. Possibly 
the group would do well to meet more than once on this 
aspect of the subject, so that it can grow together and begin 
to function helpfully in regard to the solution of difficulties 
that come into the lives of each. 

Is it possible that the group should together take some 
step which would amount to an experiment in Christian 
living ? Is it possible that if some one member is clearly 
called to take such a step the other members should 
agree to stand in with him and help him in carrying it 
through ? 

The Christian Church began as a small company of 
friends who searched together for the way of Christ and 
made experiments fearlessly. They had a common 
experience and a common faith. They had confidence 
in one another and in the leadership of the Spirit. Some 
may feel the Church of to-day has not got these qualities. 
In a spiritual sense the Church is born again wherever 
a few persons meet in this spirit of worship, adventure 
and search. Might not a group which has passed 
through the experience of these studies together be 
just the kind of fellowship which the Church ought 
always to be ? 

We want to avoid, at this point, any purely abstract 
discussion and concentrate on practical problems, testing 
our proposed solution by the principles we have been 
studying and especially asking ourselves whether the 
means we intend to use are or are not likely to be creative 
of family relations in the world. 

Two dangers must be avoided in approaching the 
social problem in this way. First, we do not want to rush 
into activities without seeing where we are going or what 


n8 < THE WAY OF JESUS 

relation, they have to the main purpose we have visualized 
in these days. As students, we should have a basis of 
thought and a knowledge of the facts to guide us. On 
the other hand, to wait indefinitely until we can see all 
the way is plain folly. Many questions are only solved 
as we begin to act in relation to them. Theoretically 
they seem insoluble. When we get to work on them it 
appears that at once one small action opens the way to 
another, and so further light dawns as we follow the light 
already given. The path of action is also the path of 
illumination. 

Some of the particular problems referred to in the 
daily studies are summarized in the questions for discus¬ 
sion. There is wisdom in choosing one rather than in 
trying to crowd in all. 

QUESTIONS TO BE FACED BY THE GROUP 

1. Let us have a very frank interchange of view as to 
what the next step means in our individual life. Has our 
study revealed anything which comes home to us as a 
personal obligation ? 

2. Can we see any new way of carrying out the ideals we 
have studied in our home circle ? Is there any place 
where we have manifestly failed ? Is our home the kind 
of circle which we should like to see enlarged and made 
typical of human society as a whole, and if not, what part 
have we in preventing it from being so ? 

3. Are there “ seeds of war ” in our personal life ? 
What about class prejudice, race superiority, indifference 
to the needs of others ? Are there barriers between us 
and any of our fellows which we are taking no pains to 
remove, and if so, how can we set about removing 
them ? For example, would greater simplicity of 
living, association with others of a different type, etc., 
so act ? 

4. Have we got into the habit of grouping or classi- 


THE NEXT STEP 


119 

fying our fellows so that we hinder the development of 
friendly human relationships ? 

5. What is compromise, and is it ever right ? 

6. Is there any point where the group can help any 
individual or act together in regard to some particular 
problem of college or community life ? Should we meet 
again to discuss further these and kindred problems ? 


TENTH WEEK 

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 

First Day . 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a 
prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye 
say, that in Jerusalem, is the place where men ought to worship. 
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, 
when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, 
worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know 
what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour 
cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship 
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such 
to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith 
unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: 
when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto 
her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John iv. 19-26.). 

The programme of Jesus has made a very strong 
appeal to young men and women in every age. It was 
largely young people whom He rallied to His cause when 
He was alive. The young man Paul was one of the most 
brilliant of His followers who devoted all his youthful 
energies and talents to the cause. In this week we shall 
consider what it is in the social programme of Jesus that 
appeals especially to the young and active in mind and 
body. 

The passion for ultimate truth, the desire to know what 
things really are, the unwillingness to be satisfied with 
shams—these are characteristic of youth. Much of the 
criticism of tradition, and, in particular, of traditional 
religion to-day, comes from this angle. There is a feeling 
that older people are concerned in keeping up super¬ 
stitious beliefs that support the old order and give such 
persons the position they hold. 

120 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 121 

Now Jesus was manifestly concerned with reality. 
This woman wanted to know the deeper meaning that lay 
behind a tradition. Jesus went to the heart of the matter. 
It was no good to worship God merely as a form: it was 
no good to worship an unknown God. What the Father 
wants is truth and a spirit that touches His spirit. As one 
person meets another in friendship and confidence and 
finds the real man behind words and acts, so Jesus believed 
we might find God. No social programme is to be built 
on a mere fancy of the mind. If God be a reality—then 
the social programme of Jesus follows. If He be not a 
reality, there is no good talking of social progress at all. 
Jesus was determined to bring men face to face with 
reality and make them discover for themselves the truth 
which meant so much to Him. 

Does this approach to life appeal to us to-day ? Is 
there any hope of social advance if it depends on a super- 
stitition which wise people think is good for ignorant 
ones still to believe ? Keeping up a pretence for the 
sake of social stability is to live in a fool’s paradise. Sooner 
or later truth will out and break it up. 

Second Day . 

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 
and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb 
of God ! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they 
followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, 
and saith unto them, What seek ye ? They said unto him, 
Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted. Master,) where 
dwellest thou ? He saith unto them, Come and see. They 
came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: 
for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard 
John speak , and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s 
brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith 
unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being inter¬ 
preted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when 
Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: 
thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. 
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth 


122 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

Phil'p, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of 
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth 
Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom 
Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, 
the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there 
any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Philip saith unto him, 
Come and see. (John i. 35-46.) 

This story of how these young men gathered round 
Jesus is a very interesting one. They had prejudices 
(see especially the answer of Nathanael). They had to 
leave their occupations. It was no small thing to go with 
this unknown man. But there must have been something 
very winning in His way with men. He overcame their 
prejudices. He welcomed the fullest enquiry. He shared 
everything with them. They even had a common purse. 
He trusted them with responsible work. Can we not, 
even at this distance, feel something of the attractiveness 
of this simple company, with their happy fellowship, their 
common quest for truth, their abandonment of everything 
as they gathered round their incomparable leader ? 

Again and again such groups have come together in 
a similar way, believing that Jesus was still among them 
by His Spirit. He said, “ Lo, I am with you alway,” and 
“ Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am 
I in the midst.” It may be hard to believe how this can 
be; but many groups since that day have so believed, 
and these have been groups which have counted in making 
the world better. Again and again it has been out of 
such a fellowship that a new idea has come which has 
revolutionized society. 

Is there anything in this story that makes an appeal 
to youth ? Young people tend to herd together—they 
begin to feel the need of intercourse, of sharing their 
lives and their deepest ideals. It was into such a fellow¬ 
ship that Jesus called His friends, and it must have been 
a very significant and powerful one if we can judge by 
the results, for it withstood the terrible shock of His death, 
and it started a movement which survived the fiercest 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 123 

persecutions, the bitterest opposition, much internal 
weakness and dissension, and still to-day it goes on with 
ever new streams of power for challenging the old order 
and creating the new. 

Third Day . 

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to 
worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which 
was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we 
would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again 
Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, 
saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a com of wheat fall into 
the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth 
forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he 
that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there 
shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my 
Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I 
say ? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came 
I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there 
a voice from heaven, saying , I have both glorified it, and will 
glorify it again. (John xii. 20-28.) 

In this passage we get a remarkable insight into the 
thought of Jesus. In the Greeks He seems to see the 
promise of the fulfilment of His dreams of a great world 
family overstepping the bounds of race and place. His 
soul breaks out into a joyful cry: Now he is glorified, 
his reward is coming. Then the shadow falls across 
the lovely landscape. He realizes that death itself is the 
price to be paid for winning the world. He faces what 
it means. Shall He withdraw and ask to be saved from 
the pain ? No, He must go forward to suffer—for without 
this there can be no fulfilment of FIis dearest hopes. 

A world Kingdom—a world service—how the very 
thought stirs the heart of youth, sick and tired as we all 
are with strife in a world which seems to be run by old 
men. Here is an ideal that calls out all our best, seen 
long ago by a young man of a little over thirty years of age. 


124 THE WAY OF JESUS 

Such dreams as He dreamt are infectious. There can be 
no doubt that He appealed to the youth of His time because 
of His daring vision of the future, because He would not 
talk in terms of anything less than a world redeemed and 
made one. 

But what of the cost ? Is that not also a part of the 
appeal ? There is an infinite capacity in men to suffer 
and endure for a cause that holds their imagination and 
enlists their manhood. It was to just such a cause as 
this that Jesus won men. It is folly to try to win young 
men and women by telling them the task is easy and 
it will not make any demands upon them. The very 
difficulties are the attraction. There is something here 
worthy of all we have to give. It will take our utmost 
effort, we shall be exhausted, lonely, perplexed. But 
the difficulties are there to be overcome; they await our 
youth and enthusiasm—nothing is worth doing that 
doesn’t cost. Youth will always respond to a call 
like this. (See Lay Religion , H. T. Hodgkin, especially 
chap, iv., “ The Demand for Adventure.”) 

Fourth Day . 

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain 
man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou 
goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds 
of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay 
his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, 
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto 
him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the 
kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow 
thee; but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home 
at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put 
his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom 
of God. (Luke ix. 57-62.) 

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place 
which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and 
he went out, not knowing whither he went. (Heb. xi. 8.) 

It is not only the difficulties. There is something else 
in the call of Jesus which at first sight might seem to 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 125 

repel rather than attract. It is the uncertainty of the 
result. No doubt in the deepest sense we can say the 
result is assured—good must triumph over ill—unless 
the whole universe is a huge nightmare. But in the 
immediate task there is an element of uncertainty: who 
knows what is going to come of the step we take ? We 
seem to be asked to go out, like Abraham, to a new country, 
“ not knowing whither we go.” Can we be sure this new 
social order will work ? May it not be that the experiment 
into which we put money, effort, life itself, will fail ? Is 
there any guarantee that the people to whom we appeal 
will respond ? Perhaps they will be like Judas. Perhaps 
when we have done our level best we shall have to confess 
that we have, through ignorance, made a fatal mistake. 
Is it not safer to stay in the old country ? 

These are the arguments that appeal to the middle- 
aged and old. To the young there is always a perfectly 
fascinating appeal in the very uncertainty. Some might 
call it the gambler’s chance ! But that would only suggest 
that there is something in all of us to which gambling 
appeals. The question is how to use this something for 
a worthy end instead of for a selfish and ignoble one. 
This is where the genius of Jesus comes in. He did 
appeal to this something in men. Faith was His sub¬ 
stitute for gambling. Faith is not to go contrary to reason, 
but it is to stake everything on something which lies 
beyond absolute proof. To these men who came to Him, 
He threw down a challenge. Leave all these things you 
know and love—leave them altogether for the unknown life 
—we cannot guarantee the result. But when these young 
men met Jesus did not some of them feel that with him 
they would dare to make the venture ? Do we feel that ? 

Fifth Day. 

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life 
for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, 
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth 


126 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth 
the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and 
careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know 
my sheep , and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, 
even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I 
must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one 
fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, 
because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No 
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have 
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This 
commandment have I received of my Father. (John x. 11-18.) 

Yesterday we closed on the thought of the great adven¬ 
ture to which Jesus called men. The secret of His power 
to win them was that He Himself led the way. There 
is no danger which He asks others to face that He did not 
face Himself. He not only called men, as did Nietzsche, 
to “ live dangerously.” He showed them what it meant 
in His own life. Surrounded by suspicious foes, He went 
steadily on with His work. As they became more threat¬ 
ening He did not hide Himself, but came boldly among 
them and continued to expose their shams and self- 
seeking. In this sense it was historically true that He laid 
down His life. It is quite clear that He could have escaped 
the Cross—but He saw a goal before Him which could not 
be reached by running away from danger. He never 
flinched, but went right on. 

All the time He was winning to Himself the increased 
loyalty and support of these young men. It was devotion 
to the person of their leader which made so strong an 
appeal and held them together through many trials. 
Young people all over the world are ready to respond 
to a leader who is fearless and affectionate, with clear 
vision and magnetic personality. Such was Jesus. He 
enlisted the young men, for He was one of themselves; 
He knew their temptations and their hopes; He felt with 
them in their sense of wrong and their passion for freedom; 
He flung himself into the thick of the fight. 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 127 

Jesus offers Himself still as the leader of the youth of 
the world. His character stands revealed to us in the 
old story. His spirit still stirs men to action. His 
standards still challenge men to arise and quit them¬ 
selves like men. His way still stretches before us, difficult, 
dangerous, uncertain as it may appear—the way of the 
Cross—but the way He Himself took, leading to the 
conquest of evil by good, to the creation of a new world 
by love. 

Sixth Day . 

But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you 
a more excellent way. 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and 
have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling 
cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and under¬ 
stand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have 
all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, 

I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the 
poor , and though I give my body to be burned, and have t 
not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, 
and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is 
not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not 
her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not 
in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believ- 
eth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity 
never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; 
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be 
knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we 
prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then 
that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, 

I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: 
but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For 
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now 
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the 
greatest of these is charity. (1 Cor. xiii.) 

This great song may be the marching song of our new 
campaign. It marks out the path that Jesus trod. It 
breathes the spirit of triumph and hope. It shows the 
futility of all other ways. Does it not awaken a response 


128 


THE WAY OF JESUS 

in the heart of youth ? Must it not appeal with great 
force to every man of passion and of patriotism ? 

Mencius wrote, “ Love conquers that which is not love, 
just as water subdues fire. Those, however, who nowa¬ 
days practise love, do it as if with one cup of water they 
could save a whole wagon-load of fuel which was on fire. 
This conduct, moreover, greatly encourages those who 
are not loving.” 

There is a way to overcome that which is not loving in 
the social order. Wherever man exploits man, wherever 
wealth cuts man off from his neighbour, wherever woman 
is used for man’s lust, wherever children are used as a 
means of getting wealth, wherever men despise those of 
another race, wherever criminals are treated as of no 
worth, wherever men preach hatred against another nation 
—love is trampled under foot. We see the vast fields of 
human activity where the fair flowers of love do not 
bloom freely, we see where the poisonous fumes of 
factories wither their tender buds. We see where the 
weeds of jealousy and scorn and pride choke the young 
shoots. We see where the rocks of harshness and cruelty 
prevent the roots from finding nourishment. 

The young men and women of all nations have a task 
so great as to stagger us, but so splendid as to uplift us. 
It is to plant this seed of love in all hearts, to water it 
with our tears, to tend it with our hands till they bleed, 
to lay down our own lives rather than see it perish. 
Wherever love blooms there is the beginning of a new 
social order. “ Love never faileth.” Does not this 
task appeal to all the best in us ? 

Seventh Day. 

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things 
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things 
are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 129 

Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save 
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come 
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am 
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. xi. 25-30.) 

We have tried in these ten weeks to see what Jesus 
really thought about the world, what was His hope for it, 
in what way He believed that hope could be realized, the 
kind of men He gathered round Him and the way in 
which they began, alone and in groups, to carry forward 
His great work of bringing in the Kingdom of God. 

To-day we review our work. What have we learned ? 
Is this word of Jesus true ? Does it appeal to us as having 
a meaning for to-day ? Is there any other standard we 
can put in the place of His ? Is there any other way we 
feel would be more hopeful, whether judged by a philo¬ 
sophical standard (the relation of means to end) or by 
the actual results in human history ? Is it time that men 
all over the world rediscovered and used again the way 
of Jesus ? Will it make an appeal to the youth of the 
world if they once can understand it and get rid of 
the prejudices and half-truths which cluster round the 
religion of Jesus ? 

These are some of the questions we must try to answer. 
We need the child-spirit if we are to answer them rightly. 
We need readiness to learn, a trustful simplicity, an 
eager expectation. Perhaps to some of us there may 
come at the end of this course a very direct appeal, as it 
were from Christ Himself, as He made it long ago in 
Galilee. Perhaps we are beginning to see that to serve 
our fellow-men or our country greatly we must serve 
Christ. Perhaps we are wondering whether ever man spoke 
as this man—recognizing His wisdom, His sincerity, His 
devotion, His power over our own lives to call out our 
best and to awaken hopes and resolutions we had never 
thought of before. If so, what shall we do ? 


9 


130 


THE WAY OF JESUS 


GENERAL NOTES 

We have now reached the close of these studies, and 
we ought to review the whole material and ask ourselves 
again the questions with which we started. It was hoped 
at the beginning that we might gain light upon the stan¬ 
dard of Jesus for society, upon the effect that the accept¬ 
ance of this standard would have upon our estimate of 
the present social order and upon our plan for securing a 
better one. We hoped to be in a position to answer the 
question, “ Is Jesus the leader whom the world needs 
to-day ? ” 

This question is closely related to another one: “ Is 
Jesus the Leader whom I can follow and to whom I can 
give my entire confidence and devotion ? ” It is, we 
have seen, through the individual that Jesus seeks to 
change society. Undoubtedly the system needs to be 
changed. Evils have crept into our social order which, 
especially in the rapid changes following modern indus¬ 
trialism, we can see clearly to be opposed to the highest 
ideals of human welfare. These evils find their starting- 
point in the lives of ordinary men and women. We 
cannot blame them upon a system. It is therefore clear 
that if there is to be any reality at all in our social pro¬ 
grammes, we must face the question as to whether w T e are 
prepared to live the kind of life that, if all others lived 
it, would result in a change in the system—in a new and 
better world. That seems to be the crux of the matter 
in the thought of Jesus. Other reformers are prepared 
to enlist men and women who will work for a change in 
conditions with whatever motive and in whatever way. 
Jesus seeks only to enlist those who begin with the change 
in themselves, who are pledged to work for changed 
conditions in ways that are personal, educative, and 
persuasive, rather than by violence or by compromise. 
The kind of person Jesus w r ants is the daring man who 
will begin by living in a world so far from ideal as though 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 131 

it were already the world of his hopes. He will not wait 
till everyone else is ready to move with him. He will 
be a pioneer of the new social order. 

The question, then, which first confronts us is, “ Are 
we ready to take this leap in the dark ? Dare we 
follow Christ ? ” We have no excuse for deceiving our¬ 
selves as to the nature of the enterprise. At the same 
time we have a Leader who went first, one who promises 
us the power to live up to what we see to be right, who 
said He would Himself stand by us in the struggle. It 
is not possible to close our study without facing this 
personal side of the question. 

To the group there remains the wider and more general 
questions. Is the standard and the way of Jesus good ? 
Do we know any better ? Will it appeal to the young 
men and women we know ? How can it be made to appeal 
to them ? To review the records of each week’s work 
will help us to see the progress of thought throughout 
our study. We may find some records that need to be 
altered. We may find some points that need much 
further discussion, as, for example, the relation of Jesus 
to the problem of private ownership, the question of war 
and Christianity, the problem of the making of a better 
industrial order and many others. But there ought to 
be material out of which we may find answers to these 
questions. It would be well for the group to consider 
before it breaks up whether it has found such a close 
fellowship in this search after truth as to make it wish 
to continue in facing these other unsettled questions, 
and whether it has any specific duty towards the school, 
college, or neighbourhood in view of the light which 
has come in this joint study. 

There are many aspects of the teaching and the work 
of Christ which have not been fully or at all dealt with 
here. This course has deliberately confined itself to a 
special problem. It is the writer’s hope that it may 
have shown how very full of interest and modern meaning 


i 3 2 THE WAY OF JESUS 

the New Testament is, and given a zest for further study 
of its teaching on other aspects of life. There are many 
who have taken their ideas from Christianity in one form 
or another, but who disown Christ. We need not blame 
them, for often they do not even know the source of their 
ideas, and often they have been prejudiced against Christ 
by the action of persons or communities that have the 
name of Christian without fully showing His spirit. But 
undoubtedly they lose a great deal. They do not know 
what it is to go back again and again to the original source 
and get fresh inspiration and new interpretations of life. 
Nor do they know what many who follow Christ can 
witness to—His actual power and presence to keep them 
true to their ideals, to strengthen them to meet temptation 
and opposition, to give them an abounding sense of hope 
in the midst of the most discouraging circumstances. 
That each one who studies this course may know some¬ 
thing of this experience—the most wonderful thing life 
holds for man on earth—is the closing prayer of the writer. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. A brief review of the whole course, and in particular 
of any records made, will be a valuable prelude to making 
the best use of this closing period. 

2. Is the standard of Jesus, as we now see it, what the 
world needs ? If not, in what respect is it deficient ? 
Can we see any better standard ? 

3. The members of the group might very simply 
exchange their ideas as to what this whole study has 
meant for them—how it has affected their thinking and 
how it will affect their lives. 

4. What in the programme and call of Jesus appeals 
to youth ? How can that appeal be made by us to-day ? 

5. In what sense is the way of Jesus revolutionary ? 
Do we believe that there is still in the teaching of Jesus 
a strong enough principle of truth and enough life to 


THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH 133 

change the face of the earth if we should take Him 
seriously ? 

6. The group should not disperse till it has faced the 
question as to whether it wishes to continue its work 
either (a) in facing some unsolved questions or ( b) in 
undertaking some special service. 


APPENDIX 

THE REPORT OF THE “ FORUM ” ON SOCIAL AND 
INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS AT THE PEKING CON¬ 
FERENCE OF THE WORLD’S STUDENT CHRIS¬ 
TIAN FEDERATION, APRIL, 192a. 

The following statement embodies the findings of the 
“ Forum ” on social and industrial questions. Hurriedly 
prepared they cannot be taken as a final statement of the 
position of the group, but they do express a large degree 
of agreement among an international body of Christians , 
and as such may be a contribution to building up an 
international Christian position on these matters. The 
“ Forum ” hopes that thevarious Movements may consider 
them in detail and see what are the particular applications 
to which students in the several countries should be asked 
to give themselves. 

What Jesus Christ Means for the Life of To-day. 

The life of Jesus was utterly dedicated to the creation 
of a new order (the Kingdom of God), in which the family 
relationship, under God our Father, would be worked 
out in every department of life. This new order was to 
come through the creative activity of loving men and 
women, in harmony with one another and in conscious 
dependence upon God. 

Jesus stated His programme thus: 

To preach the Gospel to the poor. 

To proclaim release for captives and recovery of sight 
for the blind. 

To set free the oppressed. 

*34 


APPENDIX 135 

In seeking to work out this programme we may note 
that— 

(1) Jesus was supremely concerned with persons, far 
more than with things or even with reforms. He thought 
it worth while to make children happy, to talk to an alien 
woman, to spend time with ignorant fishermen, to help 
social outcasts. None were too poor or insignificant for 
His personal interest and help. 

Therefore: 

We are to be interested in each one and study his needs 
as a person whom we must respect and never despise. 

We cannot be satisfied as long as any are neglected or 
oppressed. 

We must strive for education that will develop person¬ 
ality. 

We must seek to secure leisure for all to develop their 
minds and souls. 

As industry is organized increasingly, especially in the 
Far East, we must prevent labour from becoming an 
intolerable burden to the workers. 

For the criminals, beggars, defectives, we must provide 
conditions that give them possibilities of becoming useful 
members of the community. 

In such ways we may express social justice based on 
recognition of human worth. 

(2) Jesus behaved toward all as if they were already His 
brothers, and was never held back by distinctions of race, 
class and sex. The Jews hated the Samaritans, but Jesus 
healed and helped them; He mixed with rulers and 
peasants, He gave new hope to the fallen woman because 
He believed in her. 

Therefore: 

We must bring to an end all that keeps men apart. 

We must stand for the highest ideal of woman, her 
freedom and her equality with man. 


136 THE WAY OF JESUS 

We must form a world family where race prejudice has 
no place. 

Those of us whose economic advantage gives us power 
over the lives of others must be ready to surrender such 
advantage for the sake of closer fellowship. 

We must see that the great chasm separating employer 
from employed in the more industrialized countries is 
not allowed to develop in the less forward. 

We cannot be finally satisfied w T ith such a division in 
society, and must seek to bring all who work in any 
industry together in some form of joint ownership and 
control of the property they use for their service to the 
community. 

Thus we may help all to be masters of their own 
lives and also servants of the community working 
together. 

Such are steps toward true universal brotherhood expressed 
in co-operation. 

(3) Jesus spent a great deal of time in practical service 
for the community, and in helping individuals who sought 
His assistance. He spent a large part of His life in the 
carpenter’s shop; He healed many who were diseased; 
He fed the hungry. 

Therefore: 

Our lives must be lives of service. 

We must give our best, not to gain wealth, but to serve 
our fellows, whether by economic production, teaching, 
healing, or in any other way. 

We must seek for such social changes that production 
may be for service, not for profit, and men shall be released 
from the toil of making superfluities. 

We must recognize the health of men’s bodies as a 
matter of real concern, seeking to create a public con¬ 
science in sanitation and other preventive measures. 


APPENDIX 


137 

These are examples of social responsibility expressed in 
service. 

(4) Jesus, for the sake of this ideal, lived a life of love 
toward all men, and because He would not abandon that 
way in a world like this, He went bravely to death with His 
eyes open, despising the shame. He went on trusting the 
disciple who was defrauding Him and would, He knew, 
betray Him; He forgave His murderers and did not 
retaliate; He never tried to escape the consequences of 
acts of His love, although they were leading Him direct 
to the Cross. 

Therefore: 

We must accept the risk of loving men always in a 
world by no means ready for such action. 

We must be prepared to be imposed upon, misunder¬ 
stood and reviled without losing heart, and let our love 
increase to overcome the evil. 

If, for example, the business in which we earn our 
living is immoral, we must change it at whatever cost, 
even if it should mean bankruptcy. If we are in an office 
where corruption is a part of the routine, we must take 
the consequences of uncompromising opposition, even 
if we lose our post. 

If any of us see the way of Jesus to be utterly contrary 
to all war, he must spare no strength to root war out of 
international life and may have to refuse himself to take 
part in it, even if he is shot for his refusal. 

We must make it our aim to embody the spirit of Christ 
in all social activities, even if it seem quixotic or futile. 

These are examples of creative love in action . 

Such are some of the principles of the new social order. 
They are tremendously revolutionary—far more so than 
Bolshevism. This Christian revolution proceeds through 
reconciliation. It is a great adventure. It means living 
dangerously. It needs men and women utterly con- 


138 THE WAY OF JESUS 

vinced that God is like what we see in Jesus, absolutely, 
and who are prepared to trust Him without reserve. It 
can achieve what we all most deeply desire in our best 
moments. 

The very statement of these principles convicts us, 
who state them, of our own share in this imperfect society 
both actively and as we have consented to evil by our 
silence. But it also commits us to an unrelenting warfare 
against social ills and the purifying of our own lives in 
order that we may take our place in creating a world 
family. 

Our idea of the Christian Church includes the belief 
that it is meant to be an instrument in bringing about 
this Christian revolution, and in helping all its members 
to join therein. We wish to give ourselves to following 
Jesus in thus serving our fellows. 


BOOKS SUGGESTED FOR FURTHER READING 


Property. By various authors, edited by Bp. Gore. 
Competition. By William Temple and others. 
Christian Justice. Norman Robinson. 

The Christian Ideal. W. E. Wilson. 

The Acquisitive Society. R. H. Tawney. 
Christianity and the Social Crisis. Rauscbenbusch. 
Christianising the Social Order. Rauschenbusch. 
The Practice of Christianity. Miss Dougall. 

The Christian Revolution. H. T. Hodgkin. 

Lay Religion. H. T. Hodgkin. 

Christ and Caesar. Micklem and Morgan. 

The Way to Personality. G. B. Robson. 

The Arm of God. Roderic and Erica Dunkerley. 
The Challenge of the Present Crisis. Fosdick. 

The Untried Door. Richard Roberts. 

What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Clutton Brock. 
Principles of Social Reconstruction. B. Russell. 
The Way Forward for the Churches. Clarke. 
Non-Violent Coercion. Cave. 

The New State. Follett. 
























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